Requiem of Trust
by LateNiteSlacker
Summary: Leon Belmont, Joachim, Soma, Alucard, Dracula, and Isaac must battle their way through the trials of modern day. Can the powers of insanity, fashion, and Starbucks save them?
1. Mind Your Manners

Modern Day.

He was the height of hip. The lead rockstar. The epitome of modern fashion.

Nothing was getting in Leon Belmont's way.

Nothing of course, except the barista at the local Starbucks.

"For the last time, I just want it plain!" Leon demanded.

"Do you mean plain _coffee_? _Tea_? _Water_?" The girl in the purposeless green visor insisted.

"Just pick something from your silly chalk-board and make it!" Leon sighed, exasperated.

"Got it," the girl with too much pep agreed, punched a few things into her register, then looked up again. "Skinny, mocha, light, decaf, double-blended, extra hot?"

Leon was at the point of pulling his hair out. "Just… anything!"

"Ok ok!" She rolled her eyes at him and muttered something that sounded like "Mr. grumpy-pants."

Leon ignored her comment and handed her cash, allowing her to keep the change, glad that the horrible exchange was finally over. Just as he _almost_ had his beverage in hand, six horrible words echoed through the room.

"Do you want whip-cream with that?"

"AAAARRGH!" He grabbed the drink and marched out of the store.

Finally alone in the nighttime air, he paused to sigh in relief. He would never understand what his descendants saw in this place.

Suddenly, he was reminded of why he was even standing in front of this hellish cafe. He was here to meet someone.

Leon turned around, but shook his head, determined not to re-enter the store unless absolutely necessary. So, he settled for sitting on the wooden bench just outside.

He didn't have to wait long before a weight settled silently into the bench next to him. "Leon Belmont… it's been ages."

Technically, it had only been a week, but he allowed his somewhat delusional friend the mistake. "Joachim Armster, it's good to see you well, old friend."

"I'm not _that_ old," Joachim scoffed. "I'll never understand your dislike of coffee cafes. Now I'm stuck outside without anything to drink."

Leon ignored the scoff and turned to hand the whatever-drink to his friend, noticing for the first time that evening the change in his apparel. Joachim had taken to adding colors to his hair this decade, often choosing the most bizarre hues. Today it was purple.

He had also grown fond of the "metro-sexual" fashion movement, wearing tight-fitting jeans that betrayed every slight movement, and a light pink button down with the top half buttons unbuttoned in a characteristic "yeah, what do I care? Fuck you" way.

All in all, he blended in decently well, for a vampire. Joachim had long ago started clipping, filing, and painting his claw-like fingernails and adopting the clothing of the era. The only things that betrayed him now were his skin (just a tad too pale) and his eyes (the same reason.)

While Leon admired the clothing he would never choose to wear, Joachim took a sip of the mystery drink, and made a disgusted face.

"You don't like it?" Leon asked. "I just told the girl to make anything."

"On the contrary, it's delicious." Joachim admitted, taking another sip. "It's _you_, Leon… did you go thrifting again?"

"I… maybe…?" Leon said noncommittally.

"Leon, what have I told you about thrifting! You can never hope to blend in with the times that way!" Joachim explained for the 100billionth time, exasperated.

"I just… you can't beat the prices…" Leon insisted weakly.

Joachim turned to face Leon squarely, extending a delicate index finger and pointing out, with the merciless cruelty of a would-be sagely aunt, the atrocities in his wardrobe. "Leg warmers went out in the 80's, tye-dye bellbottoms in the 60's, striped plaid shirts in the 70's, and… oh… the speckled fedora is _so_ last year."

As he said the last comment, the vampire flicked Leon's prized fedora off his head, revealing his ratted blond hair. He could have sworn that Joachim almost cried. "Oh no! No no no! How could you _do_ that to your hair?"

"It's fashionable?" Leon ventured.

"Hideous is more like it. Oh Leon Belmont, you had the hair of the GODS, and now you've given it up to punk fashion, the one fashion trend you absolutely should never follow!" Joachim cursed in an ancient language that Leon didn't exactly know and whined at his perfectly manicured fingernails. "If only I still had my old nails! I would tear your hair back into shape right now!"

Leon ducked as the vampire swiped at his hair anyway, placing the fedora back on his head. "Ok ok! I'll wash it out tomorrow."

Joachim eyed him critically. "You had better. I wish I had seen you before tonight, we could have remedied this fashion disaster before…"

"My apologies, I appear to be late." The familiar ever-late voice sat on Leon's other side, his arrival taking both men by surprise.

"Not to worry," Leon assured him, "I'm glad you could make it, Alucard."

Alucard nodded to them both, politely reasserting, "I would prefer it if you referred to me as 'Arikado' when we are out in public."

Joachim blinked at him. "Why? It's not like we're in Japan. They're the only ones who really speak that way."

"True, people will probably just think you're trying too hard to be Gothic," Leon agreed, admiring the classy black suit Alucard chose to wear in public. Like Joachim, Alucard had decided to color his hair with the times, though typically he stayed to normal colors. Today it was black, completing his goth wardrobe.

As a dhampire, Alucard had the good fortune of having many vampiric benefits, with an immunity to the sun, a gift from his human mother. Despite said immunity, Alucard's skin was still frightfully pale.

Remembering who he had _actually_ come here to meet, Leon questioned, "Did you bring the young one with you?"

Alucard nodded.

Leon looked around expectantly, but didn't see another soul in sight. "Where is he?"

"He's ordering something inside," Alucard finally offered.

Knowing that Alucard was never much for words, Leon instead turned to Joachim, who appeared to be closely observing the tips of his hair. "I knew I shouldn't trust that brand… it's already washing out."

"But you're not even wet," Leon pointed out.

"I know!" Joachim snapped back.

Deciding that he really needed to choose who he associated with better, Leon calmly sat and waited for the final member of their party to show.

Eventually, he emerged from the store sipping his drink through a green straw. The youth wore faded flare jeans, only two unnecessary belts, a long-sleeved black turtleneck, and a white fur-collared trench coat, which he had draped over his shoulders.

Leon felt like reminding the boy that it was the middle of summer, but he didn't suppose that would matter to him. Instead, he offered a greeting and his hand. "Soma Cruz, I presume? I've heard much about you. It's good to finally meet your acquaintance."

Like Joachim and Alucard, Soma appeared to be afflicted with terribly pale skin. His chin-length silver hair draped before him as he leaned down to take Leon's hand, and his cold grey eyes somehow seemed to hold more life to them than they should.

"No need to be so formal Mr…?" Soma ventured as he pulled up a chair the opposite way Leon assumed he would so that he could straddle the seat, lean forward on the backing of the metal chair, continue to face them, and sip his drink.

With brilliance like this, it was no wonder Soma had recently defeated Dracula.

"Leon Belmont, forget the Mr." Leon smiled at him, expecting the usual reaction when people in "the know" heard his full name.

Soma continued to sit in his chair sipping coffee. "Belmont? That's cool. I met Julius a while ago. Said he'd take me out if I became Dracula. You know him?"

"Both, I'm afraid, though it's been long since I've seen either." Leon admitted. He had meant to stop by for Julius's 30th birthday. He really had.

Soma grinned, "If I didn't win, you might be looking at Dracula right now."

At this, Alucard reached over and slapped Soma's hand without hesitation. "Don't speak of those things in public. It's terribly uncouth."

Soma rolled his eyes. "Yes, grandma, I'll make sure not to tell Leon-Fucking-Belmont that his great-great-great-great-great-great grandson beat my ass with his whip in MY fucking castle when I was ( temporarily) Dracula."

Leon sat aghast at the knowledge and language. Youth these days certainly were different.

Meanwhile, Joachim was grinning maniacally. "I _like_ this one. Can I keep him?"

"_No_, Joachim, that's the caffeine and bloodlust talking," Leon sighed. "Go back to drinking your coffee."

Joachim pouted, not denying either point, but muttered. "It's tea."

"So Leon, it's cool meeting you and all, but tell me, why'd you drag me out here?" Soma asked.

Not wasting time, Leon leaned in closer, glancing around them quickly to ensure that they wouldn't be heard by anyone nearby. "Soma, for centuries now, I have helped my descendants defeat Dracula."

"That's cool, but ehh… wouldn't you be helping the other team by helping me?" Soma asked.

"I would be… if you didn't win," Leon strained a grim smile, wondering how Soma would take his next sentence. "If you didn't… I would be helping Julius defeat you right now."

Soma grinned at Alucard. "I like this guy, Allie, you don't fuck around with Leon-Fucking-Belmont!"

While Alucard grimaced in disapproval and Joachim dutifully drank his tea, Leon modestly replied, "thanks."

"So Leon, the day needs saving again, right? What've I gotta do this time?" Almost-but-not-quite-Dracula asked, biting his straw before taking another sip.

"I'm glad you asked." Really, Leon was. Now that he knew Soma, he wasn't sure the rebellious teen would have cooperated otherwise. He leaned in closer, motioning for the other three to do the same. "Here's what we've got to do…"

* * *

Chapter Trivia #1!

Should it be possible for these four to travel together? Why or why not? Review with your answer! The real answer will be posted in the next chapter!


	2. Don't Litter

They were a trio plus one. The hippest hipsters. The lords of the little league. Nothing could stand in their way.

Nothing except their communal hatred of Castlevania.

"Why are we here again?" Soma demanded, frowning at the others.

Leon gestured towards the towering ominous structure before them, "A gigantic evil castle appears, and you don't find that a bit odd?"

"I am _not_ going in there again!" Joachim continued to throw a tantrum, tossing his spent Starbucks cup to the forest ground and folding his arms. "The last time I was in that wretched castle, I was half-way out of my mind and I had the fashion sense of DEATH himself!"

Leon couldn't see what had changed, but he ignored that, instead dutifully reminding his friend, "Don't litter."

Leon himself was grumpy enough for both of them. Joachim had insisted that they stop by a clothing store on the way and made him spend three times the money he would have spent at his dear thrift store on new "fashionable" clothes. While Leon had been in shock over paying the bill, Joachim had pulled living fire through his hair with his fingernails, undoing most of the ratted mess his hair had become.

His hair was now manageably soft, his clothes typical and plain, and his wallet almost empty.

Sufficed to say, Leon was unhappy to be back at Castlevania. Plus, there was that little detail of his betrothed, Sara, being kidnapped, tortured, and eventually turned into an inanimate object despite his best attempts to save her.

Leon patted the Vampire Killer whip at his side fondly.

Sara frowned back. "_I wish you wouldn't do that so much. It's really weird. People are going to think that you're a creepy pervert._"

As usual, Leon smiled good-naturedly, blissfully unaware of his darling Sara's thoughts.

While Joachim picked up his litter and Alucard continued to assume the coolest manga pose possible, Soma spun around, holding an outstretched hand behind him. "Check this out…"

Three sets of eyes waited expectantly.

"Open… sesame…" As Soma uttered the words in the coolest most seductive way he possibly could, the large castle doors behind him swung open.

Alucard cleared his throat. "Might I suggest _not_ using Dracula's powers while we are within Castlevania? You do remember what happened the last two times you did that, don't you?"

Soma stared at him blankly.

Alucard stared back at him with equal apathetic blankness.

"I became Dracula?" Soma finally offered.

"Yes."

They both blinked at each other for three more minutes.

Finally, Soma said, "And that's bad, why? Who cares? If I become Dracula, we've got Leon-Fu-"

"_Perhaps_," Alucard interjected. "It would be nice not to burden Leon with your carelessness."

Soma sighed, "Whatever, Allie, I wanna steal some souls! And I'm a lot _cooler_ now! Plus I've got this bitchin' new attack I wanna try out…"

Suddenly, a bright light flashed, making the four glance around warily.

"What was that?" Leon asked, gripping the vampire killer reflexively. "Are we being attacked already?"

Joachim scoffed, "We're not even inside Castlevania yet! The creatures of darkness couldn't have attacked us."

"Not so," Alucard remarked. "The creatures surrounding this castle are often just as fierce as those inside."

Before they could argue any more, Soma had run through the castle doors with a loud battle cry.

"Soma! Don't forget why we're here!" Alucard warned after him.

Apparently, the youth had already forgotten, because by the time the other three had stepped within the walls, he was nowhere to be found.

Leon sighed, "Why do I have the feeling we'll be fighting Dracula tonight?"

"Because Soma doesn't have any manners," Alucard responded crossly, turning to face Leon. "I'm terribly sorry. I know we can't carry out our plans without Soma, but he's run off again."

"Again?" Leon inquired.

Alucard hesitated, but finally admitted, "He hasn't been taking his medication, and you know how that can affect people."

"Oh, trust me, I know," Leon said, eyeing Joachim, who was currently testing whether or not his recycled-plastic cup would make a good hat. It didn't.

Joachim, who despite his current predicament had caught the jab, responded with agitation, "Medication didn't exist when I was alive, and I've never taken any while dead!"

"Yes, that's glaringly obvious," Alucard muttered with a heavy sigh.

Determined to reclaim his dignity, Joachim brandished the cup for his next exclamation, "We must head to the Throne Room!"

Though Leon admittedly felt drawn to the Throne Room, he had to question, "why?"

Joachim rolled his eyes as if to say "shouldn't you know?" and actually voiced, "because Dracula always shows up at the Throne Room, doesn't he? If we get there first, Soma won't have a chance to become Dracula yet, and we can beat the souls out of him!"

It was a bit twisted, but Leon had to admit that the plan made sense. "Joachim, I find your plan twisted, but it does make sense."

Meanwhile, Alucard snorted, surprising Leon with the sound, "Indeed, let's play vampire hunter and rush to the Throne Room, _Belmont_."

"Ok," Leon agreed.

"I was being facetious," Alucard blanched. "Don't you care about Soma?"

"I do, but Joachim is right," Leon reasoned, "If we continue moving about the castle to find him, we may never cross paths; however, if we stay in one solitary location, we have a better chance of finding him."

Alucard disagreed, but growled, "fine. But if he becomes Dracula again…"

"To the Throne Room!" Joachim bellowed, leading the way.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who has left a review so far! It makes me happy to see that people are enjoying my fic! =)

Chapter Trivia #1 Answer: 

_Should it be possible for these four to travel together? Why or why not?_

No! Leon and Joachim are from the game Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, set in the year 1094. "Arikado" (Alucard) and Soma are from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, set in 2036. Leon, a human, should find it difficult to live this long, unless I have something else planned for this story up my sleeve…

Chapter Trivia #2!: 

Alucard makes a jab at Leon in this chapter about Belmonts rushing to the throne room. Is he being a hypocrite? Review with your answer!


	3. Look Before You Leap

Leon recalled the castle being more difficult to traverse in the past. Of course, last time he hadn't been able to double-jump.

"How are we jumping twice in the air anyway?" Leon cried as they continued to double-jump their way through the castle, avoiding most of the puzzled looking enemies.

Joachim shrugged. "Luck?"

Their double-jumping stopped short, however, when they reached a very peculiar room.

"Dracula must have a sense of humor this time…" Alucard muttered as they entered the tiny room… with five doors.

Each one of them assessed the situation on their own, then came to a collective conclusion.

"Whatever happens, we'd better stick together on this one," Leon stated.

"We must split up!" Joachim declared.

"Left." Alucard stated.

For a moment, each stared at the other two.

Suddenly, the right-most door burst open, a startled looking Soma dashing through. Immediately, Alucard stepped forward, "Soma, you've been collecting souls again, haven't you?"

"Uh-oh, grandma Allie's gonna cramp my style!" Soma dashed quickly across the room, and flew through the door to the left.

Their decision made for them, the three followed Soma through the open door…

…and ran into a large ballroom, where ghostly spirits danced the night away, heedless to their presence. Soma was nowhere to be seen.

Aggravated, Alucard struck one of the dancing couples with his sword, coaxing a small cry of displeasure from the pair as they burst into dust and disappeared.

A delicate cup of tea sat in their place.

Joachim picked up the tea, sniffing its sensual fragrance and dumping it into his plastic Starbucks cup. "Thank god! I thought I'd never get a refill."

Leon stared at his friend in disgust. "How can you…"

The vampire offered him the cup, "you want? I swear it tastes just like the stuff you bought."

"No!" Leon huffed, ignoring Joachim in favor of searching the ballroom. Platforms jutted from random locations in the walls, and staircases that lead nowhere were scattered about the room.

They were _definitely_ within Castlevania.

As the three marveled the intricacies of the ballroom, a bright light flashed around them.

"What was that?" Leon's eyes narrowed as he spun around, eying the dancing ghosts skeptically.

"It probably wasn't anything," Joachim rolled his eyes. "Besides, shouldn't we be going somewhere?"

Recalling that they did indeed have a destination in mind, Leon double-jumped up to a staircase, leading the trio forward. They ran from staircase to staircase, eventually arriving at a door.

"Do you think this is it?" Joachim asked.

"Only one way to find out," Leon steeled himself, threw open the door, and plunged through.

He fell for what seemed like an eternity until he splashed into a deep underground lake. Fortunately, for Joachim and Alucard, they had both looked before they leapt.

"That was a close one," Joachim sighed in relief, clinging to the doorframe. "I haven't lived a thousand years to die now."

Alucard eyed him suspiciously. "Couldn't you turn into mist, or assume another form to get away?"

Without hesitation, the vampire replied, "I could, but then I would lose my tea."

"HEY!" Leon's voice cried from far below them. "Don't come down here, it's full of water!"

"We know!" Joachim called down to him. "Maybe this will help tame your horrid hair?"

"Not funny, Joachim," Leon yelled, then paused for a moment. "You two go on without me! I'll be fine on my own. Head to the Throne Room and find Soma!"

"Ok," his old friend agreed immediately, turning around and walking briskly away.

"Be careful, Leon," Alucard cautioned, before following the purple haired vampire. "Castlevania seems different this time. You would do well to keep your guard up."

"Agreed," Leon said, knowing he was saying it to himself, as his companions had both disappeared already.

A couple minutes later, Leon found the edge of the lake, pulling himself out of the water to lie for a moment on the shore. It wasn't long before he heard a moan to his side.

"Who's there?" He rose to his feet immediately, brandishing the Vampire Killer.

"Leon-Fucking-Belmont…so you… fell too?"

As the person next to him coughed and sputtered out water from his lungs, Leon grinned, extending a hand to help him up. "I thought you were a lot cooler now, Soma?"

"Shut up," Soma chuckled, taking Leon's hand and standing up. "I _am_ a lot cooler now, watch this!"

The youth appeared to concentrate within himself for a moment, then a great gust of wind filled the entire underground chamber, causing the tiny candle-lit lantern flames to waver dangerously and simultaneously drying their clothes.

"Handy!" Leon agreed, then his face fell to concern, "But didn't Alucard say you shouldn't use Dracula's powers?"

"Yeah yeah, Allie says a lot," Soma shrugged and began walking towards a lighted tunnel in the cavern. "Wanna see my new bitchin' attack?"

"Uhh… sure?" Leon said slowly, feeling very apprehensive about this for some reason.

Soma shook his head. "Not here, we need a bigger area… let's keep going."

He couldn't say why, but he was somehow glad that the youth had decided to move on. He hoped that they would meet up with Alucard and Joachim soon and finally be done with Castlevania for good.

Elsewhere in the castle, far above Leon and Soma, Joachim frowned. "My tea is cold."

* * *

Chapter Trivia #2 Answer:

_Alucard makes a jab at Leon in this chapter about Belmonts rushing to the throne room. Is he being a hypocrite? _

Yes! Alucard himself rushed to the throne room to defeat Dracula in the game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Other non-Belmonts have also been the protagonists of Castlevania games, including Soma, Hector, and Shanoa.

Chapter Trivia #3!:

Leon asks why they can double jump, and Joachim doesn't give him a real answer, but one character can actually double-jump for a legitimate reason. Which character is it and how does he do it? Review with your answer! =)


	4. Eat Your Veggies

"We have bigger things to be concerned about than your tea," Alucard said lowly.

Frowning, Joachim poured out the remnants of his chilled tea onto the plush red carpet below his feet. "I think Castlevania makes things colder."

"Knowing its master, I'm not surprised," Alucard muttered forging ahead. Though Castlevania changed every time it reappeared, he knew how to recognize the signs of the Throne Room approaching.

A very long red-carpeted staircase faced them.

Sighing, Alucard began the ascent, wondering why Dracula would want to climb all of these stairs every time he wanted to sit on his throne.

"You know, I never quite got why Dracula built this giant staircase," Joachim commented. "Do you think he's… compensating for something?"

Alucard chose not to respond.

"Because, you know, he could be…"

"Shut up," the dhampire grumbled.

"If Dracula appeared, would you kill him?" Joachim prodded.

"Dracula is a menace to society," Alucard affirmed.

"Say the kid turns into Dracula…" the vampire's words lingered there before he continued, "would you actually kill him?"

Finally, Alucard whipped around, "I would kill _you_ if you weren't Leon's friend."

Joachim grinned, finally seeing what Soma found so amusing in pestering this man. "Oh? Pity. We could have been great friends, gone shopping together… manis and pedis while sipping appletinis…"

"Don't drag me down to your level," Alucard turned away in disgust, furiously climbing the stairs faster.

Joachim floated beside him until they reached the door. "He really could be in here, you know."

"Who? My father?" Alucard snorted, "He died long ago."

"Oh, and he's _never_ mysteriously risen from the dead before…" the vampire murmured, absently toying with his hair. "Even I've done that a couple times."

"I'll prove to you that he's gone." More than aggravated with Joachim, Alucard pushed the doors open and dashed inside.

"Hello Adrian, it's been a while."

A wine glass filled with red liquid crashed to the ground, shattering and spreading its contents in a widening pool on the stone floor.

Alucard stared in disbelief. "You!"

Dracula, in full body, mind, and soul, rose from his throne, his dark cape adding a mysterious flourish behind him regardless of the fact that there was no breeze in the Throne Room. "Have you finally decided to come home to me?"

"Never," Alucard growled, brandishing his blade in defiance.

Meanwhile, Joachim tisked, inspecting the spilled liquid. "Such a good waste of perfectly good... wait…" he sniffed the air a bit then looked up at Dracula in disbelief. "Is that fruit punch?"

"Alas," Dracula sighed. "You made it to the Throne Room too quickly… and…"

"…and?" Alucard prodded, knowing that the sooner his father finished with his long-winded speech, the sooner they could kill him and leave.

"…I've decided to become a vegan." Dracula declared proudly.

Flabbergasted, Alucard dropped the sword he had been holding. "What?"

"It's a much healthier lifestyle. I feel like I have so much energy, and it's not harming the planet. Everyone should be a vegan!" Dracula continued to rant.

"But… how can you live without drinking blood?" Alucard questioned, still in disbelief.

"Since my resurrection five days ago, I've drank nothing but potions, tea, and V8 juice," the vampire lord explained.

Joachim's eyes lit at this statement and he floated even closer to Dracula in excitement, "That's what Leon makes me do too!"

Finally close enough to actually see the man, Joachim's eyes widened in shock and he floated closer to him. "Mathias, what happened to your hair?"

"That's not my name anymore," Dracula growled but answered, "You try dying and being brought back to life a few times and see what it does to your hair."

"I chose to dye mine purple," Joachim said, pointing to his own hair. "What's your excuse?"

"I've also begun a holistic way of life," Dracula explained patiently. "I don't believe in artificial hair dye anymore."

"Oh, pity."

Meanwhile, down in the depths of the castle…

"Super-Awesome-Bitchin'-! Oh wait, there's still not enough room," Soma proceeded to keep plowing forward, while Leon followed dubiously behind.

He had watched Soma absorb at least ten souls already since they had started traveling together, and he really wasn't sure it was healthy for his diet. He also wasn't sure if it was healthy for him to use so many of Dracula's powers, but thanks to those, they were already back at ground level.

"So what's your deal?" Soma asked, idly toying with a soul he had captured but not yet claimed.

"My deal?" Leon inquired.

"You know, the 'Great Leon Belmont,' the first of the legendary Belmont clan…" the silver-haired youth glanced sidelong at Leon in a way that suddenly made him feel very uncomfortable. In one swift movement, he closed his hand tightly, absorbing the soul he had captured. "Shouldn't you have lived, _and died_, a thousand years ago?"

"_Technically_, yes, but…" Leon began to explain when an interesting room, the door cracked partially open, conveniently caught his eye. "…oh hey, what's in there?"

Forgetting their previous conversation, Soma fearlessly threw open the door and strolled inside to find a modestly decorated room. Simple in design, navy blue curtains hung around the walls of the room, tasteful plants decorated the corners, and in the center of the room a large wooden pedestal stood not two feet tall.

A large bubble of water, taller than Leon himself, floated mysteriously over the pedestal.

"I think," Soma began, walking forward until he could touch the water with his hand. "…that this is a teleport."

It seemed even Castlevania had grown with the times. "I wonder where it leads?" Leon thought out loud.

"Not sure… one way to find out!" Without another warning, Soma jumped into the bubble and disappeared.

Having no other choice, Leon jumped in after him…

…and landed beside Soma in the same room they just left. At least, that's what it seemed like. When they opened the door to the outside, a very long, red-carpeted staircase stretched before them, bringing a smile to Leon's face.

"The Throne Room is just ahead!" When they reached the center of the staircase, Soma suddenly paused.

"Oh! There's enough room here," Soma started raising his hands up, a soft glow forming around his fingertips. "I can show you my awesome bitc-"

Before he could go any farther, Leon snatched one of Soma's wrists and pulled him along up the staircase. "There aren't even any enemies here. Don't waste your magic, Soma. My instincts tell me that we may have a fight ahead of us."

Indeed, he felt extremely apprehensive as they approached the open throne room doors. Alucard had warned him earlier that something felt off about the castle this time, but in truth, he had already know that from the moment they entered.

He ignored Soma's complaints and continued to pull him closer to the open room, hearing voices inside. Alucard, Joachim, and one voice that he would never forget.

Leon released Soma, readying his Vampire Killer and indicating for the youth to prepare too. What lay ahead in the next room would surely be terrible, as hell had risen on Earth.

Steeling himself, he walked through the door.

"A nice chai tea goes splendidly with an afternoon hi-potion."

"Hmm… does it? But chai contains milk, does it not?"

"You could substitute with soy, I'm sure."

"Indeed."

Leon entered the room, his mouth falling open in disbelief. Sitting with his legs crossed lazily on the throne was the vampire he knew as Mathias, talking with a very enthused looking Joachim about… tea? Meanwhile, Alucard seemed at a loss of what to do with himself, opting to stand awkwardly nearby.

"Mathias?" Leon asked cautiously, feeling unnerved to finally see the vampire again.

"Why do people keep calling me that?" Dracula sighed before he looked up and gasped. "Leon! How are you still alive?"

"That's not important right now," Leon's gaze hardened as he strode up to where his nemesis sat. "How are _you_ still alive?"

"I asked first," the ancient vampire retorted.

Leon ignored the comment. "_So many_ of my descendants returned from Castlevania, all saying that they had defeated you, and yet, here you sit as if none of them had ever existed!"

"Ah yes. I do wish you would stop sending them after me," Dracula frowned with distaste. "It's rather inconvenient."

"You terrorizing innocent people, including myself and poor Sara, is also inconvenient!" Leon growled back, readying his whip.

"_That's right, Leon. Man up __**for once**__ and tell him off!_" Sara raged from within the whip.

As usual, Leon was deaf to her words. "You are a cursed creature, and as long as you continue to drink the blood of innocent people…"

"Oh, I stopped doing that," Dracula commented offhandedly.

"…I cannot allow you to live...!" The vampire hunter balked. "Wait… what did you say?"

"Clean your ears, Belmont, I'll not say it again," the lord of the night scowled. And indeed, he did not.

"He's decided to become a vegan," Joachim explained helpfully.

Leon, knowing that Joachim's state of mind couldn't always be trusted, looked to Alucard. "Is this… true?"

Alucard nodded, "They've been sharing vegetable and fruit juice recipes for the last ten minutes."

"Great, just what the world needs, _two Bunniculas_…" Soma muttered.

Leon seemed at a loss, and thought deeply on his own, with the other four staring at him, waiting for a response. Moments later, a bright light filled the room and disappeared.

"That light again!" Leon spun around to face each person in the room.

Joachim sighed, "Yes yes, the light. Don't you have more important things to be thinking about?"

"Oh, right," Leon went back to thinking, and after quite some time, he finally came to a conclusion. "Mathias…"

"Dracula," the formerly-evil vampire lord reminded him.

"As you wish, _Dracula_… I cannot forgive you for the terrible things you have done in the past," Leon said, causing Dracula to rise from his throne in alarm. "However, if you truly are agreeing not to harm innocent people anymore… I find it against my morals to kill you."

At this, Soma burst in outrage, "How does that make _any_ sense at all? You're Leon-Fucking-Belmont, the founder of the Belmont clan, whose mission is to _kill Dracula!_ Now all of a sudden, you're buddies?"

"I did not say he was my friend," Leon explained to Soma, while also giving his former-friend a cold stare. "…just that I wouldn't kill him. In fact, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting him out of my sight until I am certain he speaks the truth."

Alucard's eyes widened, realizing what that meant immediately. "You mean to bring him _with_ us?"

Leon nodded. "That seems to be the best solution."

Everyone stared uneasily at each other, an unspoken awkward tension filling the air like they had just seen a hobo masturbating on the train next to them.

Eventually, Dracula sighed, "fine, but don't expect me to help you do anything."

Leon nodded again. "I suppose that settles things."

"Good," Joachim heaved a sigh of relief, then turned his attention back to Dracula. "Have you tried coffee?"

* * *

Thank you to all of you who reviewed! I truly do appreciate every one. =)

Congrats to True Hyper Sonic, who got the trivia exactly right! I couldn't respond to you, as you left an anonymous review.

Chapter Trivia #3 Answer:

_Leon asks why they can double jump, and Joachim doesn't give him a real answer, but one character can actually double-jump for a legitimate reason. Which character is it and how does he do it?_

Alucard! In Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, his cape becomes flapping feathered wings when he double-jumps.

Chapter Trivia #4:

In this chapter, Leon and Soma jumped into a teleportation room that looked like a large bubble of water. Which Castlevania game features a teleportation room of this design? Review with your answer!


	5. Wrap It

"No, actually, I don't drink coffee," Dracula stated in response to Joachim's question. "It is bitter and unpleasant."

"You'll grow to like it, with time," Joachim assured him. "It's quite nice with a bit of cream and…"

"Would you two can it for a second?" Soma groaned, then turned to face Dracula. "If… if you're alive… then how am I using your powers?"

Dracula paused to reflect on this question, touching a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "An excellent question. Tell me, boy, do you have any interest in becoming a lord of darkness?"

"The name's Soma, and no, not particularly," the silver haired youth remarked, crossing his arms. "…why?"

The devilish smirk that crossed Dracula's lips was one laced with malice, "Because I could add a few more souls to your collection."

"Soma is not interested," Alucard declared immediately, earning a glare from the youth, which he immediately returned. "You don't want to become Dracula again."

"I really don't see how he could, if Dracula is standing right here. Although…" Leon commented, beginning to place together the reason Castlevania felt so strange this time. "If there were _two_ dark lords… what effects might it have on the castle?"

"The castle would likely respond to both our wills… like a foul lovechild bred from pop-culture and chaos," the current lord of darkness answered, then pointed to Soma. "Let's test it out. You. Use your will to stop this."

Before Soma could blink, Dracula had glanced up at the crystal chandelier above the boy's head. Alarm spread across Soma's face as he held his hands reflexively in the air, but nothing happened. "Did… I stop it?"

"No," Dracula frowned. "Something strange is going on…"

Feeling like he had to prove something, Soma growled, "oh yeah? Well…" With a quick motion, he commanded the throne room door to slam shut.

"Congratulations. You can shut a door," Joachim clapped his hands together slowly.

Leisurely, almost cautiously, the door creaked back open.

Soma glowered, "The castle really _does_ respond to you more…"

"Actually, I didn't do that," Dracula said, looking with interest at the door.

A timid looking succubus peeked into the room, carrying a tray of small bottles. "Are you busy, my lord? I've brought you the potions you've requested this evening."

"Ah, Saccubus. Come in and set them on the table," Dracula waved her in, eyeing her scantily clad body lecherously as she leaned over to deliver the potions.

Soma discreetly took a step away from Dracula.

"Tonight you have requested green tea, raspberry, and anguished soul flavored potions," Saccubus purred, bowing deeply to her lord. Her straight red hair fell in front of her face, the innocent white flowers crowning her head visible as she glanced up from her poised position. "Shall I add any other flavors to the menu?"

"You wouldn't happen to have cappuccino-flavored, would you?" Soma asked hopefully.

Saccubus grinned, floating over to the silver haired youth, "why, I think I do…" She reached between her barely lace-covered bosoms, pulling forth a small bottle with a popping sound. With a wink, she placed it in Soma's awaiting hands. "For you, my dear."

"Thanks babe," Soma replied, opening the bottle, tipping his head back, and quickly shooting down the contents. Satisfied, he handed the empty bottle back to her. "Top notch. You can have this back."

"Ooh, playing hard to get, huh?" The succubus smiled, plucking the bottle from him and replacing it back in its rightful place.

"Saccubus!" Dracula roared, commanding her attention back to him. Hastily she floated to him so that he could properly punish her. "Why did you do that?"

"D-do what, my lord?" She trembled as he gripped the lacey leather collar around her neck, pulling her even closer to him.

In a dangerously low voice, he demanded, "_why did you flirt with him? Your loyalty is only to me._"

Confused, she replied, "I… I do not know, my lord. I feel as though he is also my lord."

"Get out of my sight," Dracula dragged her to the window and threw her outside. "And bring licorice flavored next time!"

"Yes, my lord!" Saccubus cried as she fell out the window.

"Very interesting," Alucard commented to himself cryptically.

"What is?" Joachim asked as he stealthily snatched a couple of the potions from Dracula's dinner tray for himself.

"My father's hold on this castle and its creatures appears to be weakening," the half-breed explained. "I wonder what could cause this dilemma?"

"I don't know, but that isn't really important to us. Don't forget why we are here," Leon finally interjected, a determined gleam in his eyes as he looked at each of his companions in turn. "To destroy Castlevania once and for all."

"Wait, what?" Dracula flew face to face with his former-friend. "Why do you want to destroy my home?"

Leon spread his hands in a "well duh" motion. "Mathias, your castle is evil. _You_ are uhh… _were_… evil."

"It's Dracula," he reminded Leon and folded his arms crossly. "And besides, you have no idea what…"

"Castlevania binds the souls of the five most evil and condemned demons in the history of the universe," Joachim began with a sigh.

"As well as two of the most angelic," Leon added.

"They are all bound to various places in the castle, lying dormant," Alucard continued to explain, "But they will awaken and be set free if we merely destroy Castlevania in its entirety."

"So we have to kick their asses first," Soma finished, then looked squarely at a flabbergasted Dracula with a grin. "I think we have an idea."

"…I was _going_ to say…" Dracula's scowl deepened, "that you have _no idea what effort I've put into remodeling!_"

Indeed, now that he thought about it, Leon's descendants all came back with different tales of the castle's design. And the teleportation room had appeared quite decorative and New-Agey.

Plus, that would explain the stack of _Good Housekeeping_ and _Better Homes and Gardens _magazines next to the throne.

"I apologize, I never realized you cared so much about it," Leon admitted. "But, your castle is still _evil_."

Dracula paced away from Leon, sighing reluctantly. "If I help you destroy the evil presences, will you leave my home alone?"

"I shall," Leon promised.

"AND," Dracula spun around, pointing a finger at the Belmont. "Will you stop sending your descendants to kill me? Seriously, it's getting old."

Leon smiled, "As long as you remain a vegan."

Dracula huffed haughtily, "One does not simply decide to stop being a vegan. It is a change in lifestyle, a change in _who you are_."

"Ok, that's great, can we go kick some demon's ass now?" Soma tapped his foot impatiently.

"Yes," Alucard nodded, leading the way to the door of the throne room. "Metaphorically."

"Wait, what?" Soma groaned. "Explain."

It was rare that Alucard showed much emotion, and it was even rarer that the emotion was happy, but he actually smirked. "This demon _has no ass to kick_. It's completely non-corporeal."

"Wha? But then how do we kill it?" Soma whined.

"I don't know," Alucard admitted. "We will not know how to defeat it until we fight it."

Soma rolled his eyes but dutifully followed the half-vampire through the doorway. "Fucking fantastic."

* * *

Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! It really makes my day to know that so many people are enjoying this fic!

Oh, and before you say anything, yes, I do know how to spell Succubus. I chose to name Dracula's favorite "Saccubus" after reading this typo online somewhere. If I'm not mistaken, this is her Japanese name. This simple mistake made me laugh like an idiot for hours.

Congratulations to these people, who answered the Chapter #4 trivia correctly! (In order of who reviewed first…): Willowfur, True Hyper Sonic, Lonewolf102, and Teros!

Chapter Trivia #4 Answer:

_In this chapter, Leon and Soma jumped into a teleportation room that looked like a large bubble of water. Which Castlevania game features a teleportation room of this design?_

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, which features the heroine Shanoa, has this type of New Age-ish teleportation room.

Chapter Trivia #5!:

Despite their claim to being vegan, Joachim and Dracula are vampires. Should they be able to drink potions, tea, and V8 juice? Review with your answer!


	6. You Know What They Say About Assuming

"Do you often heave your servants out the window if they displease you?" Leon asked Dracula as they followed Alucard and Soma to their first demonic battle. Currently, they were walking through an area filled with fun-house mirrors that Leon found more than a little unnerving.

"You don't?" Dracula asked in response.

"I don't _have_ servants, and even if I did, I doubt they would live if I threw them out the top floor of a giant tower," the Belmont pointed out.

Dracula shrugged. "Saccubus can fly. She's _was_ my favorite succubus servant."

"Was?" Joachim asked as he sipped an anguished soul potion from his Starbucks cup. "She seemed… _eagerly_ helpful."

"She is," he agreed, then glanced darkly at Soma's back. "But she defied me tonight."

"You seem overly concerned about that," Joachim remarked. "Are you feeling a little… impotent?"

"I most certainly am _not!_" Dracula sneered, though he did look a little dubious.

"Enough," Alucard commanded them. "We are near the location of the first unspeakably evil demon."

"Unspeakably evil?" Soma asked, arching an eyebrow.

Alucard shrugged. "Nobody has ever spoken of it."

"Interesting…" he murmured.

"Are you sure we're in the right spot?" Joachim inquired, trying to see around Dracula's gently fluttering cape.

Leon pulled him out from behind the cumbersome black velvet so that he could see the door in front of them. Not only was the ebony door massive, but a blood-red skull had been engraved into it. "Something tells me we are very close."

"I see…" Joachim murmured, then turned to Dracula. "I thought you were remodeling?"

"Even I do not wish to entertain these foul creatures…" the lord of the night shivered. "Besides, the door has its own… _morbid_… charm, does it not?"

"Something tells me that _this _design wasn't featured in your magazines," Soma stared at the door doubtfully, extending his hand forward until he touched the cold stone. "An unspeakably evil non-corporeal demon that we don't know how to defeat waits for us behind this door?"

"That is correct," Dracula assured him with a smirk. "Why, are you getting cold feet?"

"Why would I be…" Soma glanced back, the wicked grin on his lips hungry for a challenge, "… when I'm gonna collect a fucking _sweet_ demon soul in a minute? It's ass-kicking time!" He shouted, pushing the door open with all his might and will.

The door didn't budge.

"Oh, I didn't mention the key? How rude of me," Dracula swept forward, pulling forth a tiny metal key. He inserted it into an inconspicuous spot on the forehead of the skull, twisting it until they heard a click, then removing it with a grandiose hand-wave. "Now, would-be lord of the night, please try again."

Soma kicked in the door and burst into the room.

A giant maze-like room filled with funhouse mirrors, even on the floors and ceilings, greeted them. While the room was not very tall, it appeared to be extremely deep. Though it could have been an optical illusion, everyone knew it wasn't.

Joachim scowled at the nearest mirror, which refused to show his reflection. "I hate mirrors. They're so assuming and petty."

"Count yourself lucky, this time," Leon said, his voice sounding a bit strained as he walked deeper into the room. Everywhere he turned, at least five more of himself greeted him. If he looked down at the floor, his reflections appeared to go on for eternity. "Mathias, why did you choose this particular design?"

"Dracula," the dark lord reminded him. "I didn't choose this design. The ones who fashioned this prison did. Imagine, what would it feel like to live for an eternity in a room filled with nothing but mirrors…"

At this, Dracula put an arm around Leon, gesturing to the mirror in front of them, where only Leon's reflection stared back with confusion. "…when you yourself haven't a reflection? This room is intended to be more than a mere prison cell. It's meant to be torture."

All of a sudden, a bright light flashed around them, reflecting in all the mirrors and temporarily blinding them.

After the blindness went away, Leon looked around him quickly. "What _is _that light? It keeps following us…"

"It hasn't harmed us yet," Joachim said lethargically. "But I think there is something in this room that will." He glared covertly at Alucard.

"So Allie, you said that demon's in here? One of the five most evil demons? The unspeakable…" Soma began before Alucard swiftly covered his mouth with a pale hand.

"Don't speak of it!" The half-vampire hissed but was too late.

A loud wail echoed through the room. It started forcefully loud and became an ear-splitting screech as it moved closer. Alucard's eyes widened, "Run!"

Each person ran away with no hesitation as the screeching flew through where they were just standing.

Leon's heart beat wildly in his chest. Despite the fact that his descendants had battled through Castlevania several times in the last few centuries, it had been long since he had felt the heat of battle. His reflections unnerved him, and the high pitched wailing tore at his eardrums.

It took him a moment to realize that Joachim was behind him. In fact, he didn't notice the vampire's presence until he stopped at a dead-end, Joachim crashing into him at full speed. "Leon, what are you doing?"

"It's a dead-end, and besides, I'm waiting…" he closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the fading sound. "It seems to be going away."

"Well I can't imagine why," The purple haired vampire huffed.

"Neither can I." Leon admitted, puzzling through the situation out-loud. "This creature has five victims trapped inside its dank maze-like lair full of dead-ends and nowhere to run but towards it…"

"Doesn't sound familiar at all." Joachim muttered.

"…and it disappears?" Leon turned to face his old friend. "Why would it do something like that?"

"Maybe it was bored and didn't want to deal with an overzealous blonde haired knight coming to rescue his betrothed?" the vampire grinned at Leon. Seeing that he was not amused with that bit of history, Joachim sighed, "it's probably been trapped in this hell-hole long enough that it's gone _crazy_. I can assure you, it does not take long for that to happen."

"Great, just want we need," Leon muttered, "An _insane_ unspeakably evil demon…"

No sooner had Leon uttered those words when the cacophonous sound appeared again, this time much closer to them. "Oh shit…" Though they both ran quickly down the long and winding pathway, this time, they couldn't escape.

In one fell swoop, the banshee-like wail overtook them.

Joachim uncovered his ears, shocked to find himself still standing. "Ha! You MISSED ME!" He did a small booty-dance of victory, turning to Leon, "We totally _owned_… uhh… Leon?"

The vampire spun around, noticing that all the mirrors surrounding him were blank. "_Leon!_" He shouted.

"Shut up, metro, you'll give away our position," Dracula growled shoving Joachim forward. "It already claimed both Soma and Adrian as well."

"I'm not dead," Alucard harrumphed as he appeared next to them.

Dracula smiled sadly, "Of course you aren't, dear."

"What?" Joachim sputtered in disbelief, "They died _off-screen?_"

"I'm _not_ dead." Alucard stated again in annoyance.

"Off-screen to you, perhaps," Dracula glowered. "Soma was standing next to me when the creature of unspeakable evil struck, and now…"

A piercing cry appeared from above them, and Joachim's eyes widened in terror as a wraith-like creature filled with sharp claws, billowing wisps of clothing, and tentacles appeared above them. With another loud scream, the monster bore straight down onto them…

…with no effect.

Being the saner one of the three, Alucard blinked, murmuring the obvious, "It didn't take us?"

Joachim was grinning maniacally. "_It can't hurt us_…"

"Whatever do you mean?" Dracula sneered at the other vampire's all too happy expression.

"I believe I understand," Alucard stepped in to explain. "Think for a moment. What separates _us_ from Soma and Leon?"

Dracula groaned. "That dreadful burden of morality."

That hadn't been what Alucard was expecting. "No…_We don't cast a reflection in mirrors_."

Finally, the lord of the night began to catch on. "They disappeared because they have something the demon of unspeakable evil doesn't, a reflection… a soul."

Once again, the creature reappeared, this time right beside them. Its shape seemed a bit more defined than before as it angrily tried to tear through the vampires again to no avail.

"I have a soul," Alucard said, his brow furrowed delicately.

Dracula gazed at his son with sympathy. "Sure you do."

"It appears every time we speak of it, each time a little more visible," Joachim noted. "Soon enough, this _creature of unspeakable demonic evil_…" Joachim closed his eyes as the creature rushed through them again. "…may actually become corporeal."

"Correct," Alucard agreed, drawing his sword with grim determination. "And if that happens, we can kill it."

"What are we waiting for?" Joachim began shouting with glee, "O demonic creature of unspeakable evil!..."

In the next ten minutes, the three heckled the evil demon, cajoling it from a wraith-like apparition to a corporeal monstrosity.

In the next ten _seconds_, the three had hacked it apart into a thousand tiny pieces, burning the remains until its piercing scream faded away for good.

"So that's it…" Joachim murmured sullenly. "Poor Leon… I'll never forget him…"

"I'm not dead!"

"I know you're not dead, Alucard," Joachim continued to weep.

"No, I'm _Leon_, and I'm not dead!"

The vampire choked back a sob. "His silly morals… his terrible fashion sense…"

"Hey! Suspenders and striped leggings are in!"

"Leon?" Joachim looked up at the mirror before them, shocked to find Leon trapped on the other side, pounding his fist on the glass with exasperation. Soma was karate-kicking the mirror next to him.

"Oh, I didn't mention that they were trapped behind the mirrors?" Dracula asked offhandedly.

"This is _so_ uncool…" Soma grunted, placing his hands before him and banging his head on the mirror.

"We destroyed the monster that dwells in this room," Alucard speculated thoughtfully. "That must mean that the one who now controls this room is…" he looked up at his father, his eyes narrowed. "…the ruler of this castle."

"Is that so? I didn't realize." Dracula feigned nonchalance, cracking his knuckles and placing his hands on the glass before them.

Nothing happened.

"Quit playing your games and get them out!" Joachim demanded impatiently.

"I'm _trying_…" Dracula growled, willing the castle with all of his might to let Leon and Soma free from the mirrors. After he made many constipated sounds, still, nothing happened.

Suddenly, Soma looked up. "Wait, Allie, you said the _ruler of this castle_ can get us out?"

"That is correct," Alucard affirmed.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Soma grinned, grabbing Leon's arm and pulling him along. "It's time to bust outta this joint!"

"What? But, how?" Leon stumbled after him, confused.

"Let us outta here!" Soma bellowed to the castle, then ran into the mirror.

"Wait, Somaaa—!" Leon cried, but found himself standing on the other side of the mirror, beside his unlikely companions before he could finish that statement. "That… actually worked?"

Soma grinned, fist pumping the air. "Hell yeah! This castle's my little bitch now!"

As the group left the room, feeling both unnerved yet victorious, only Dracula seemed more doubtful than before. "What is happening?"

Nobody answered him, though. No sooner had Alucard began to look at him with concern then Soma bust out a loud wail of anguish.

"What's wrong? You saved the day, kid," Leon asked.

"I didn't even get its soul…" Soma frowned crossly. "Do you think we could fight it again?"

Alucard replied mater-of-factly. "You'll have to wait until boss rush mode,"

* * *

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and tried the trivia! I am giving credit to everyone who answered the question, since there are multiple interpretations of vampire lore. In case you were curious, though, I have given my answer below. ^_^

Congratulations to: Willowfur, True Hyper Sonic, Lonewolf102, and LadyArmster!

Chapter Trivia #5 Answer:

_Despite their claim to being vegan, Joachim and Dracula are vampires. Should they be able to drink potions, tea, and V8 juice?_

Yes! Although you will find varying answers depending on the vampire story you read, in the game Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Joachim is able to use Potions which are randomly scattered around the castle. Tea and V8 aren't that hard of a leap, are they? =)

Chapter Trivia #6:

Alucard is a half-vampire, but he doesn't have a reflection. In which Castlevania game does Alucard clearly _not_ cast a reflection in the mirror?


	7. Real Men Man Up

"Don't get too down, Drac," Joachim consoled him discreetly as they lingered a few feet behind the rest of the party. "So the kid showed you up once, big deal."

"You have never been lord of this castle_, you don't_ _understand my pain_…" Dracula began to weep emo tears.

Joachim blinked at him. "No, I guess I don't. Hey Leon! Did you find the next room yet?" He floated swiftly up to his friend's side.

Leon gave him a reassuring grin. "Not yet!"

"We are close," Alucard said solemnly.

"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Soma rolled his eyes as yet another obsidian door with a blood-red skull carved into it came into view. When they reached the door, Soma turned to face his companions, "Ass-kicking time?"

"Wait," Alucard grabbed Soma's collar, pulling him back as the boy leapt to kick open the door. "You don't know a thing about your foe."

Soma sighed, folding his arms. "Ok, grandma, tell me what I should know."

Alucard cleared his throat. "The demon behind this door is one of the toughest and most fierce that you will encounter in this entire castle. His might is so great that he has been locked away not only within Castlevania, but in an alternate dimension all together."

Soma blinked, as if coming out of a daze. "Wait, what?"

"I think what Alucard is saying," Leon interjected, "is that once we pass through this door, we will no longer be in Castlevania. The demon is so strong that his prison is another world."

"That's insane!" Joachim protested, "Why would anyone build such an elaborate prison?"

"Because he was once my favorite."

"But now," All eyes turned to Dracula, who opened his cape in a familiar way, pulling forth a carrot. He drained the vegetable of its carroty juices thoughtfully and muttered, "He may as well be dead to me."

"Sounds like he's got a bitchin' awesome soul!" Soma grinned, ready to kick open the door again.

A bright light filled the room briefly, then flickered out. Leon spun around, "Where is that light _coming from?_"

"Who cares?" Joachim shrugged, turning to Dracula. "You might want to open that door. The puppy is getting anxious to go out."

Indeed, Soma was already kicking the door.

No sooner had the massive ebony seal slid open than a great force pulled all five of them within. The door slammed shut behind them.

"Aie!" Leon yipped. "Since when do the doors slam shut like that?"

"The last one did too," Dracula commented. "You were just too busy admiring yourself in the mirror."

Leon couldn't deny that, so he chose to observe the room instead. What Alucard had said was true. This was more than a mere room. It was an entire world.

They were currently standing in a meadow filled with daisies and butterflies. A small lake graced the scenery, and a line of log cabins sat peacefully in the background. Fortunately for the vampires, the sun appeared to have set recently.

"Aww man…" Soma groaned, falling onto his back amiss the flowers. "How are we supposed to find him in this huge place? This is gonna be so much _work_…"

"I suspect we won't have to look very hard," Dracula replied. "If I remember him correctly, _he will find us_."

As if on cue, a loud whirring noise filled the meadow. Gigantic gusts of wind flattened all of the flowers to the ground and blew their hair and clothes in a very artistic way. Over the horizon appeared a sight that none of them had expected.

A helicopter flew until it hovered just above them. The craft made no motion of landing, and a ladder wasn't even extended.

Instead, the demon jumped from the plane, falling with his arms spread until he reached the ground, where he landed hard on his feet, leaving a deep imprint into the ground. Dust billowed around them, and the chopper slowly began to depart.

He had landed not five feet from Soma, whose eyes widened in shock. His boots alone spoke volumes, durable leather encrusted with both dirt and the blood of his enemies. He wore tattered jeans stained with automotive grease as if to say "what the fuck do I care?" His henley shirt was a deep red color, the sleeves rolled up so that his bulging biceps were easily visible. The demon's hair was a vibrant red, gracefully yet terrifyingly sweeping over his left eye.

Despite being clearly outnumbered, he seemed to notice only one of them. "Hey, Dracula."

"Isaac…" the vampire uttered the name with clear hatred, his lips curling into a displeased snarl. "My once-loyal devil forger. What happened to you?"

Isaac shrugged. "Had to hit the gym."

"For _four hundred years?_" Dracula growled.

"Hey, this work of art didn't build itself overnight," Isaac spread his arms, flexing instinctively.

Soma's eyes narrowed with jealousy.

"Isaac… I've heard of you," Alucard spoke, drawing the attention of the two ancient beings. "You… aren't what I expected. I thought you used magic and crafted innocent devils?"

"I don't use magic much anymore," Isaac admitted. "Don't need it, except to get U.F.C. on the T.V. The innocent devils like piloting."

As if it knew what was being said, a burly innocent devil looked down from the chopper, waving good-naturedly.

Isaac waved back, signaling for it to leave on its merry way. He then turned his attention back to the others, reminding them of their mission. "So what brings you this way?"

"We came to defeat you," Leon explained apologetically. "Though really, you don't seem like the evil demon I was expecting."

Isaac's laugh bellowed across the meadow, echoing back a few times, and he slapped Leon on the shoulder, sending the Belmont sprawling into the squished flowers by Soma. "Evil? If building motorcycles is evil, then I suppose I am."

Soma's eyes bugged out of his head. "You… _build_… those?"

"Harley-Davidson ain't got nothing on these babies," Isaac assured him with a grin, gesturing towards one of the log cabins with his thumb. "They're out back if you wanna look."

Soma did, and he almost got up to check it out, but then he remembered why they were there. He looked up at Alucard, "Hey Allie, are you _sure_ this is the right guy? He doesn't even seem menacing."

"This is Isaac," Dracula answered quickly instead. "I would never forget the face of my favorite."

"I'm flattered," Isaac nodded graciously.

"Don't be. You aren't anymore," the lord of the night frowned.

"Oh. That's too bad," Isaac shrugged, then turned to the others. "Hey, you guys wanna catch some U.F.C. and drink a couple cold ones? I built an in-ground cooler into my deck."

Soma was about to agree, but Dracula decided to interrupt by having a fit.

"I can't believe what has happened to you!" the vampire cried out, "You were once so elegant, so mystically powerful, and now… you have _chest hair_ everywhere!"

Joachim glanced at the tuft of chest hair sticking out from the three unbuttoned buttons of the devil forger's henley shirt. "Actually, they're only on his chest."

"Oh, they're everywhere," Isaac quickly remedied. "I got so sick of shaving every three hours."

Unable to bear it any longer, Dracula began to weep emo tears again, his eyes glowing red with inner sadness. "Oh Isaac! How could you do this to yourself? You used to be so graceful when you wore these. Couldn't you wear them again?"

Everyone's eyes widened as Dracula opened his cape, producing a pair of tight leather pants affixed with chains that looked like they were necessary to hold the scant fabric together.

"You would have me emasculate myself by wearing _those_ _again?_" Isaac's eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a snarl as he clenched his fists. "Dracula… you have gone _too far! Enough talk, let's fight!_"

Immediately, everyone sprung to defensive positions. Leon was starting to see why this man had been locked away inside his own world. Just the sight of his rage was terrifying, and he had no doubt that they would be in for quite a battle.

Leon found that to be a gross understatement.

It took Isaac less than a second to grab Dracula by the nape of his cape, spin him around once, and hurl him like a sledgehammer across the meadow. He then turned his eyes to the remaining four. "_This_ was your goal? I'll never become that person again! I'll never prostrate myself before anyone and sink to the depths of wearing _tight leather and chains_ again!"

Eager to prove himself, Soma ran forward first, an electric charge of lightning bursting from his fingertips as he raced towards his foe. Isaac clenched his fist, punching through the lightning and back spin kicked the silver haired youth into the thick trunk of a near-by maple tree.

He didn't even need to look behind him to know that Alucard was there. In one swooping motion, he ducked underneath the half-vampire's sword attack, grabbed the blade and bent it in half.

Disgruntled, Alucard began pulling forth another sword, but the devil-forger hit him with a flying knee to the head before he could, knocking the dhampire halfway into the lake. With a cry, Alucard pulled out his left arm and leg, which had already begun to sizzle sensuously in the calm water.

In the past ten seconds, Joachim had materialized his favorite five blades around him. With an arm outstretched, he telekinetically sent all five racing through the air at the redhead. Roaring, Isaac swiped each blade away with a swing of his meaty fist, stepping closer to the vampire with each swing.

Joachim gasped, unable to recall his swords before Isaac had flying scissor heel hooked him into submission. Wasting no time, the devil-forger grabbed the vampire by his trapped leg and hurled him towards the lake. Alucard caught the squealing vampire in the air before he made contact with the water.

Again, without looking back, Isaac held up and flexed his right arm, catching Leon's Vampire Killer whip before it could reach his neck. Letting the whip wrap around his arm a couple times, he pulled both the weapon and its owner forward. Catching Leon by his neck, he raised him into the air and choke-slammed him into the ground.

"Nng!" Leon struggled to pry Isaac's enormous hand off his neck, his whip lying uselessly to the side.

"_Way to go and lose me, Leon. Again._" Sara commented sourly from within her confines of the whip.

As usual, Leon didn't hear her. "I…ssac… don't…"

"Don't what? Resist?" Isaac laughed bitterly. "I told you already: I'll never be that person again. For years I was trapped in that awful skin-tight leather… do you know how much that _chaffs_?"

Leon did not.

"A lot. All that shaving whorishly exposed skin, dealing with pain in the ass platform shoes, and fucking _submitting_ to everything…" Isaac roared with rage. "I'll never do that again!"

Leon's eyes widened, and for a moment, Isaac thought that he had killed him. Miraculously, he hadn't, and the Belmont managed to croak, "_Now!_"

Like one being, Dracula, Soma, Alucard, and Joachim all pounced on Isaac, tearing him off Leon and throwing him onto his back. While the devil-forger was still stunned, Soma and Alucard both grabbed an arm, twisting it into a submission position. Joachim and Dracula each grabbed a leg and did the same.

Coughing, Leon stood up, waiting for a moment for the dizziness that accompanied near-death to pass. When it eventually did, he collected the Vampire Killer, walked up to the mass of struggling bodies, and said, "Admit it Isaac. We've beat you."

"No! Never! I refuse to tap-out! I'll never submit!" Isaac bellowed.

"There is only one way to defeat him," Alucard said cryptically. "We must do something that will make him _submit_. If we take a symbol of…"

"…his traumatic past and make him relive it, that should do the trick!" Joachim agreed jovially.

That hadn't been _exactly _what Alucard was going to say, but it was close enough.

"Harsh, man," Soma shook his head. "But I guess it works. What symbol do we have?"

"I know just the thing," Dracula said with a grin, looking up at the Belmont. "Leon. Get the pants."

"I already have pants, thank you." Leon politely informed him.

"No, _Isaac's_ old leather pants, the ones lying over there," Dracula rolled his eyes in the direction of the leather heap.

Realization dawned on Leon as he retrieved the leather. "Are we going to have to…?"

"Pants him? Yes," Dracula smirked, pulled off one of Isaac's boots then looked to Joachim, "Take off his boots first, and then on the count of three…"

Joachim nodded and took off the other boot. "One… two…_three!_"

An instant later the vampires had ripped the pants off the devil-forger.

The next instant everyone screamed with agony and disgust.

"He's going commando!" Soma shouted, adverting his eyes. "It's like a vermillion forest!"

"Quick, Leon! Put the pants on him!" Alucard ordered desperately.

Not about to argue with any of them, Leon swiftly positioned the pants at Isaac's feet. This time, Joachim and Dracula were able to coordinate pulling up the leather without a flashy countdown. Soma affixed the chains around his abdomen just for good measure.

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHH!" Isaac roared immediately as the tight leather and chains clung to his legs, constricting, binding, and emasculating him at the same time.

It was the cry of a man who had lost his dignity. Leon had to look away.

Noticing that Isaac had gone limp, the other four let go of his limbs. "You beat me…" he muttered quietly.

Feeling a little guilty, Leon had to apologize, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"Nah, it's cool," Isaac stood up and winced at the tightness. "Ok, not really, I've gotta get out of these things."

With a mighty growl, Isaac flexed his thighs, ripping the leather off his body. He tore the cumbersome metal chains in half, discarding the destroyed leather on the meadow floor. Walking with his bare butt to the breeze, he headed towards one of the log cabins. "Since you destroyed my pants, I'll need another pair."

"We could go shopping!" Joachim exclaimed happily.

"I'd rather not, thanks," Isaac said, with a sidelong glance. "Anyway, if you wanna get started on that U.F.C. you'll find the cold ones in the back patio. I'll catch up in a minute."

As Isaac walked into his log cabin and closed the door, the group looked back and forth at each other. Finally, Leon asked, "What should we do? It's not like he's really hurting anyone out here…"

"Yeah, I almost feel a little bad for him," Joachim agreed. "We did just invade his privacy, rip apart his jeans, and force him to wear chaffingly tight leather pants."

"However, Isaac is dangerous," Alucard cautioned. "If left to his own devices, there is no limit to the destruction he could cause."

"You're right…" Leon muttered, deep in thought. Finally he looked up at the others. "I suppose that settles it then. We'll have to take him along with us."

"WHAT?" Soma cried in outrage. "He just tried to _kill_ us!"

"He wouldn't have done that if Mathias hadn't reminded him about the past," Leon pointed out. "Besides, he seems pretty cool."

"Dracula," the lord of the night reminded him, swallowing back a look of disgust. "I suppose he does have a different type of…_charm_… now."

The group only seemed slightly skeptical when Isaac reemerged from his home, tattered automotive grease stained pants back in place. All of their doubt disappeared though, when he lead them to the back, pointing out his row of perfectly polished hand-crafted motorcycles and the built in back-yard theater, complete with lounge chairs and the promised cold ones.

Noticing that Soma was eyeing the bikes enviously, Isaac asked, "You want one?"

"Seriously?" The youth's eyes glowed with happiness. "But, I couldn't possibly…"

"Don't worry about it," Isaac waved it off. "I'll just build another one tomorrow."

"This _U.F.C…_" Leon murmured as he watched muscled men fight each other on the large screen before him. "How are you receiving it in this alternate dimension?"

Isaac pointed up to the roof of his house, where a large spear raised helpfully towards the sky. "I've moded the Chauve Souris to be an antenna, but I've also got to use a _little_ magic to pull it from the other dimension."

He was interrupted by a delighted squeal. Joachim was lounging in one of Isaac's plush chairs, holding up a pot of coffee. "You have coffee! Any chance I could get creamer and sugar with that?" The vampire produced his Starbucks cup with glee and began pouring the dark liquid into the vessel.

"Sorry," Isaac spread his hands. "I only drink it black, but if you want, I could milk one of the cows."

Joachim waved it off, "That's ok, it would probably taste like grass or something if it's unpasteurized."

"It does," Isaac agreed thoughtfully.

Alucard picked up the remote control and changed the channel. Immediately, their ears were assaulted with the screams and destruction of a monster truck rally. He clicked the remote again. They were back to U.F.C.

"Monster trucks. U.F.C. Monster Trucks. U.F.C…" Alucard sighed. "Is this all you watch?"

The devil-forger rolled his eyes. "_Sometimes_ the Martha Stewart show comes through. I have no idea why."

Dracula adverted his gaze tactfully.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time, and after Isaac offered to barbecue steaks for them, they found themselves staying well into the night.

Dracula found it impossible to be around people who chose to be so brutal to animals, and he stormed off into the forest. Since he couldn't partake in the meal either, Joachim went after him.

"They're humans, they have to eat sometime," Joachim explained, sipping his coffee with a content sound.

"Yes, they do, but does it have to be _dead cow?_" The lord of the night whined. "Don't they realize the harm they are doing to their bodies and the environment by consuming all that _red meat_?"

Joachim shrugged, happiness filling his eyes as he continued to sip his drink.

"You… look _far_ too happy. What's wrong with you?" Dracula stepped towards the other vampire, caught the scent of his coffee, and took a step back. "Is that… _blood_ in your coffee?"

"It… is," Joachim admitted. "Isaac felt bad that he didn't have creamer for me. So before he strangled the cow for dinner, he bled some of it into my cup."

Feeling betrayed, Dracula shook his head. "I thought you had become a vegan too!"

"I never said that," the purple haired vampire quickly corrected him. "For Leon, I don't kill anymore, but I eat more than vegetables."

Dracula, feeling hurt and dejected, began to weep bloody emo tears again. "You're as bad as the rest of them!"

Joachim nodded, "Probably worse."

"Get out of my sight, I can't look at you anymore," Dracula turned away, his cape flaring behind him dramatically.

"Ok." As Joachim walked back to the others, he passed by Isaac going the opposite direction. "Are you going to talk to him?"

"A real man will man up," Isaac confirmed, then pointed with his thumb back at the others. "I saved you some blood in a tin can by the grill, if you want."

"Do I!" With that, Joachim happily frolicked away.

Isaac walked into the wooded clearing, finding his former master leaning against a tree, sobbing. "Hey Dracula."

"Isaac…" Dracula turned around, wiping the blood streaks from his cheeks. "What do _you_ want?"

"To say thanks, and sorry it had to be this way." The devil-forger said, stopping when he stood next to the vampire.

"Thanks?" Dracula spat. "I resurrect you back from the grave, give you an _entire world_ to play in, and this is how you thank me?"

"Yeah, I should probably explain that…" Isaac took a breath in preparation. "When you brought me back, I knew that I could never be that flamboyant magic-wielding whore anymore. That was never me."

Dracula was silent, taking in all of his former-minion's words.

"When you sealed me behind the demonic boss door, I was kinda glad," he continued to explain. "I could never have gone back anyway."

"A change in identity… a change in _who you are_…" Dracula looked firmly into Isaac's eyes, a grim smile on his lips. "I understand that… and I think I can accept that."

Isaac grinned, extending his hand. "Peace?"

"Peace." They shook hands, and Dracula began to cry bloody tears again, but this time it was tears of happiness.

As they walked back together, Dracula looked back at his former-lackey. "Isaac, I just have one more question."

"Hm?"

"What happened to your tattoos?" he asked, observing the perfect creamy skin where dark lines once marred his body.

"I rubbed them off," Isaac explained with a shrug.

"Rubbed… them off…" Before he could say any more, they had reached the others, who looked up impatiently.

"Are you two fucking _done_ with your kiss and make-up session?" Soma rolled his eyes. "It's time to kick some demon ass! I'm _seriously_ lacking souls here."

"Though he could have stated it with more proper manners, I agree with Soma," Alucard harrumphed, switching off the T.V.

"Ok," Isaac nodded to them. "Good seeing you all. Stop by sometime if you want to barbecue and hang again."

"Actually," Leon interrupted. "We would like for you to join us."

A moment of trepidation passed wherein all feared they may have yet another life-threatening battle on their hands.

Then, Isaac cracked a grin. "I thought you'd never ask."

"OhThankGoodness." Leon released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, then stood from his chair. "Well, shall we get started?"

"Give me _ten_ seconds," Isaac said, holding up ten fingers.

Ten seconds later, he was atop one of his many flashy hand-crafted motorcycles, racing through the meadow towards the demonic-boss door, his scarlet hair whipping behind him in the breeze.

"I guess he's ready," Joachim commented, tipping the last of the blood into his cup discreetly. With a happy sip, he floated after the devil-forger. "Last one through the door's a rotting corpse! Oh wait. It's probably going to be you, Leon. Nevermind."

While Alucard power-walked smoothly through the meadow, Soma zoomed past him on the cycle he had chosen. Dracula stared intently at the demonic-gate in the distance, grimacing with displeasure, but not moving.

"…Mathias? Are you ok?" Leon asked with concern. "Isaac didn't uhh… _do_ …anything to you, did he? You have rights, you know."

"It's Dracula," the lord of the night sighed. "And no, Isaac was perfectly cordial. In fact, he… _waaah!_"

"What is _taking_ you two so fucking long?" Soma shouted, grabbing them both and pulling them onto his motorcycle. "Damn! Grandma Allie even beat you to the door!"

As he barely clung to Soma's motorcycle for dear life, Dracula screaming in his ear, Leon smiled. Though they hadn't killed Isaac, Leon was satisfied with their new manly addition to the party, despite how strange he may seem.

* * *

Thank you to the people who have reviewed! I love to see that people like this story as much as I like writing it.

Congratulations to Lonewolf102 and Biru-chan for correctly answering the trivia!

Chapter Trivia #6 Answer:

_Alucard is a half-vampire, but he doesn't have a reflection. In which Castlevania game does Alucard clearly not cast a reflection in the mirror?_

In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Julius and Yoko's reflections are visible in the mirrors, but Alucard's is not. Though Alucard is featured in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, there are no mirrors in the game, thus leaving it impossible to prove whether or not he does have a reflection. Oddly, in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, Alucard _does_ have a reflection in the mirror, but that is primarily for game-play reasons.

Chapter Trivia #7:

In this chapter, Isaac is able to build motorcycles and aircrafts. Is this too far fetched for our manly man? Review with your answer!


	8. Know Your Limits

"Isaac, do you _have _to ride your motorcycle through Castlevania?" Leon bellowed. "I think it's attracting monsters, and we can't hear each other anymore!"

"You just need to speak up." Isaac laughed, perfectly audible, and punched through a zombie as he drove by.

Monsters _had _been attacking them more lately. Joachim frowned at his five blades, all dripping with the nasty ooze of rotting creatures. "This is _so_ inconvenient. Dracula, why do you have such _unpleasant_ minions?"

"Cheap labor," Dracula explained.

"And why are they attacking us, anyway?" Soma growled as he tossed a screaming mandrake root at a zombie, exploding its guts all over the wall and Joachim, who shrieked in disgust. "Shouldn't you be able to tell them to stop coming after us, Drac?"

"I…" Dracula began to trail off, but conveniently noticed a silver door, bearing light blue wings. With great urgency, he pointed to it. "Hey, what's that over there?"

Soma quickly forgot about his question as the party stopped just in front of the eerily glowing door. A strange aura of mysticism emanated from behind the entrance, as if pulling them towards it.

Soma immediately tried to ram through the door with his motorcycle but failed and wiped out.

Alucard sighed. "It appears to be a gateway to one of the angelic seals. I can't say that I know much about it."

Dracula strode forward with his key in hand. "Well, we're here to take all these things out, aren't we? Let's…"

"I think we should skip this one," Leon stated bluntly, catching all of their attention.

"But Leon, it's _right here_, why should we wait?" Joachim arched an eyebrow with suspicion.

"Because the angelic beings aren't exactly harming anything right now, are they?" Leon asked, then pointed out, "but the demonic beings will. We shouldn't waste time with this right now."

"I suppose you're right…" Dracula sighed, and regretfully put away his key.

The group didn't have to go much farther before the next door appeared.

"The next demonic-boss door is just ahead," Alucard said cryptically. Unfortunately for him, nobody heard his words over the deafening motorcycle engines.

"Look out guys!" Leon shouted as the ebony door engraved with a deep blood-red skull came into view. "It looks like we have a fight ahead of us!"

Soma popped a wheelie and tried to bust through the door but instead wiped out. Again.

Dracula tisked, "He'll only lose more brain cells that way." Pulling out the same tiny metal key, he unlocked the door.

Accustomed to Soma's foolish boldness, Alucard began to inform the party of their next foe, finally audible now that Isaac's engine was idling. "Our next opponent will not be easily taken down."

Joachim rolled his eyes and muttered, "sounds familiar."

"According to legend, she is a fierce and mighty warrior…" he began.

"_She?_" Soma stumbled, leaning on his motorcycle for support as he stood up. "This'll be a piece of cake."

"Not so," the half-vampire cautioned. "She will be difficult to take down, because she _does not exist_."

Everyone blinked at each other for a minute, unsure how to react to that statement.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed around them. Leon's eyes widened, "_Again? _Ok, I'm seriously getting weirded-out."

"Shouldn't you be more disturbed by the fact that our opponent _doesn't exist?_" Joachim criticized.

"I should be," Leon sighed in apology. "Sorry guys."

"Nah, it's cool." Isaac popped a proper wheelie and bust through the door. Soma unsteadily walked his motorcycle in behind him.

They found themselves in a long corridor, mystically painted to look like the nighttime sky. Clocks of all fashions hung on the walls, each displaying a different time. An eerie twinkling sound filled the hallway, which seemed to grow narrower as they moved through it.

Indeed, the passageway was getting smaller. Isaac and Soma were forced to abandon their motorcycles half-way. Eventually, they had to turn sideways to walk through the corridor, the walls pressing closer to them, trapping them within the disorienting pulse of the galactic paintings.

Mist filled the walkway, obscuring Leon's vision and making him cough.

"Sorry," Alucard, despite being in mist form, mumbled in apology.

"It's ok…" The Belmont sputtered, moving a little quicker to get ahead of the half-vampire.

Finally they burst through the door at the end of the tunnel and into a larger room.

Gasping for breath after their recent claustrophobic experience, Leon could only stare at the grimy wooden floor below his hands. A moment later, Alucard morphed at his side, helping him up.

"Thanks," he nodded to the half-vampire as the rest of their party appeared behind them.

"Holy shit…" Soma breathed in awe at the room around them.

They were standing in an old timey tavern. Wooden tables and chairs occupied the room. Tabletop candles and mounted torches cast a soft glow about the area, revealing stacks of wooden barrels whose contents remained a mystery to everyone.

In the corner, a sheep-hound slept peacefully by an aimless stack of wooden logs. Noticing that the logs had been chopped with an ax and not punched into submission, Isaac's eyes narrowed. "Cheaters."

The place was packed. Both men and women, seemed to be merrily chatting and drinking away at a modest bar, oblivious to their presence. Some huddled around tables, smoking cigars while playing cards, others already leaned against the walls in a half-drunken stupor.

"Great, how are we supposed to find our _nonexistent_ person in here?" Joachim sighed, eyeing Alucard ruefully.

"This is a wayward point for traveling souls," Alucard observed, eyeing the people in the room carefully.

"Your point being…?" Dracula motioned for his son to stop being cryptic and hurry it up.

The half-vampire glared at his father, but continued. "There is only one person in this room who would be here permanently."

"Well, it wouldn't be us, we just got here…" Leon thought out-loud.

Joachim eyed him dubiously, sipping the last of his coffee. "Ok, that was a good try, Leon."

Finally, Dracula's eyes found her, and he grinned. "I think I am beginning to understand. The person we are looking for is…"

"…that hottie at the bar!" Soma declared, pointing triumphantly to a gorgeous red-head sitting at the bar sipping a martini.

Despite Soma's mistake, Alucard continued darkly, "the bartender."

When he looked up, the dhampire found that the girl's eyes were already on him. She was indeed beautiful. Her thick blonde hair hung in a long braid behind her, anime-esque wisps of hair framing her face. She wore what appeared to be an army-green one-piece swimsuit, a decorative dark overcoat that was held together by a belt at her waist, battle-ready gloves, and thigh high leather boots.

"Alucard," she said, her voice level and cold as he strode smoothly up to the bar. One by one, the patrons of the bar began to disappear, presumably going off to another world. By the time the group had reached her, they were the only ones left in the place.

"I don't understand," Leon frowned. "She doesn't look nonexistent to me…"

"Perhaps in this room, she does exist," Alucard explained, "but in our time-line, she does not."

"I don't exist?" the girl gasped, looking a little hurt. "How could you say such a thing! Do you not remember me?"

Silence was her only answer.

"Dracula! I know not how you are still alive, but you do remember me, don't you?" she pleaded.

"I'm afraid not, my dear," Dracula shook his head regretfully.

"But it is I, Sonia Belmont! I _killed_ you!" She said angrily, "How could you not remember me?"

"Hey, that's my last name!" Leon's eyes widened in shock. "Are you one of my descendents?"

"I… know not what you speak of," Sonia said dubiously.

"I'm the first of the Belmont clan, the vampire hunters whose mission is to destroy Dracula," Leon explained.

"But… Dracula is standing before you _right now!_" Sonia pointed to him. "And you do not destroy him?"

"Oh, he decided to become a vegan, so we're cool with him now," Soma commented.

"Ve-gan?" the girl shook her head. "What you say makes little sense to me, but one thing I know for certain…Alucard!"

Surprised, the half-vampire looked up at her. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," She leaned closer to him, desperation in her eyes and voice. "After years of waiting, finally you have awoken from your slumber and come back to me! Surely, you remember me, don't you? …my love?"

Alucard stared at her intently.

She stared back at him intently.

"Sonia Belmont…my love…?" Alucard continued to stare at her intently.

Then…

"I'm sorry, I don't know you," Alucard cast his gaze aside harshly.

"How could this be? Why does nobody remember me?" Sonia wailed, clutching her hands to her head as she leaned over the bar.

"Maybe because you just weren't popular enough?" The question brought everyone's attention to Isaac, who had already poured himself a glass of whiskey and begun sipping it. Noticing their looks, he apologized, "Sorry, I was choking on the estrogen in here."

"No, no I think you, good sir, have the right idea," Sonia's voice was low as she looked up again, a wrathful scorn in her eyes. "I will defeat you all _here and now!_"

Immediately, Leon pulled out his Vampire Killer whip, Joachim readied his still grimy five blades, Soma's hands glowed with electricity, Isaac balled his fists, Alucard readied the Alucard sword, and Dracula opened his cape.

Sonia slammed a bottle of strawberry pucker on the bar.

The men all blinked at each other, unsure how to respond to her attack.

"I see you don't understand yet," Sonia grinned, pulling seven shot glasses from behind the bar. "Take a seat, boys, I'll drink you _all _under the table."

"You're on!" Soma declared, taking a seat at the bar. "This whole _castle's_ already my little bitch. I'll beat all of you with my eyes closed!"

"Your eyes _will_ be closed," Dracula sneered, taking a seat next to Soma. "…when you're sleeping like a baby on the floor. I'm _already_ the lord of this castle. Do you really think you can beat me, boy?"

Leon took a seat doubtfully next to Joachim and Alucard. "But… this is a sin, is it not? My body is a temple, I couldn't possibly…"

Joachim rolled his eyes. "Leon, just _think_ about all the crazy shit you've done over the last thousand years."

Leon thought about it.

"Let it sink in." The vampire advised.

Leon let it sink in.

"There, feel better?" He asked.

Leon felt better.

"Are you boys ready?" Skillfully, Sonia poured the strawberry pucker into the seven small glasses. She flicked them with precision so that each vessel stopped in front of its rightful challenger. "I thought we'd start off easy."

"Oh, hang on a sec," Isaac, realizing that the girly talk was over, downed his glass of whisky. "Ok, I'm ready now."

"Stupid boy." Sonia shook her head, then raised her shot-glass. "On the count of three, we will all take the first shot together. One… Two…"

Dracula fell on the floor.

Everyone paused, looking down at him.

"Did he drink his already?" Sonia frowned crossly.

"No. It's still full." Soma peered over at his rival's glass with a smirk. "Just the _smell_ of it knocked him out."

"Oh. So much for the lord of the night," Sonia tipped her head back, throwing the contents of the glass down in one smooth shot, and slammed her glass on the table. "THREE!"

Startled, the others did the same. At least, Joachim _thought_ they did, until he spied Leon slowly sipping the strawberry pucker. "No no, you're doing it all wrong."

"But it tastes good," Leon complained. "It shouldn't be wasted."

The vampire sighed, "It's _not_ being wasted, you're drinking it!" As Leon went to take another small sip, Joachim tipped the remainder of the shot into the Belmont's mouth with an index finger.

Leon swallowed it hard and coughed. "That… that was…"

"Eassy! Arrya reeadyfer thee nest ROUND?" Soma asked, his hands gripping the bar loosely as he reeled forward… backwards… to the side… and down.

Alucard regarded the pile of Soma on the floor with a sigh.

"Ha! Two of you down, and we've barely started!" Sonia chuckled as she poured the next round, flicking the glasses to the ones left behind. "I will defeat you all! Especially _you_ Alucard…"

Alucard blinked, uncertain as to why she was so upset with him.

"THREE!" She screamed, and they all tossed back their shots.

After the strawberry pucker bottle ran out, Sonia moved on to rum, vodka, and whiskey.

Somewhere in the rum, they lost Joachim, who started crying about his poor zombie-stained shirt. Leon fell during the vodka, earning him more reprimands from Sara.

"_I can't believe you're such a WUSS! Let me at her! I'd have drunk her to the floor an hour ago!"_ Sara cried from within the whip.

Leon was already snoring on the ground.

After the whiskey, Alucard was beginning to breathe a little hard, and even Sonia's cheeks held a redish glow. Isaac continued to sit, nonchalantly awaiting the next shot.

Sonia faced Alucard, tears beginning to brim in her eyes. "I can't believe you don't remember me, Alucard… we were lovers… we had a child."

"We did?" Alucard shook his head, an action he regretted immediately as he gripped the bar to stabilize himself. "I don't…"

"Remember?" Sonia laughed weakly. "Of course you wouldn't. Apparently, _I don't exist in your timeline_…"

And finally, in his drunken stupor, realization dawned on Alucard. "Isaac was right… you _did _exist, but you were _written out of the story_."

"Written out of the story? What story?" Sonia trembled. "You speak as if we're all just fictional characters in some fantastic _game!_"

"You were replaced…" Alucard continued to rationalize, gazing down at the sleeping Belmont on the floor. "…by Leon."

"_He_ replaced _me_? But how could he?" She wailed.

"If we truly did have a child… that child would be Dracula's grandchild," Alucard pieced everything together bit by bit. "And every Belmont born after that would have tainted blood running through his or her veins. Not exactly the marketable pristine image that you want, is it?"

Sonia floundered for a counter-argument, but finding none, resorted to, "I loved you Alucard… _I loved you!_"

"Unfortunately, my dear," Alucard responded dramatically, "I have never loved you."

"Eyyyyaaahhh!" Screaming with rage, Sonia reached over the bar and socked Alucard in the face, knocking him backwards onto the floor where he remained content to stay.

Her breathing ragged, she gasped for breath, feeling more liberated than she had in 600 years.

"Oops, looks like we'll have to move onto another bottle."

Sonia turned around, recalling that she still had one person left to defeat. That person seemed to have finished the remainder of the whiskey.

Tossing the empty bottle behind him, Isaac apologized, "Sorry, it was getting too girly in here again."

"You… how are you still cognizant after all you've had to drink?" Sonia demanded.

Isaac shrugged. "A real man knows how to hold his liquor."

She shook her head, the long blonde braid whipping back and forth as she pulled out an ancient looking bottle. "Scotch. Aged 600 years."

Sonia poured two shot-glasses of it, flicking one over to Isaac. "It was to be a celebratory drink… for when Alucard finally returned to me."

"Sorry, but could you cut the bullshit?" Isaac asked, taking his scotch in one gulp. "I don't like drama-queens."

Angered to the point of feeling nothing, Sonia tipped her head back, took the shot, and fell over behind the bar.

Observing the peacefully sleeping people all around him, Isaac sighed, poured himself another glass of scotch, and waited.

Moments later, Alucard rose back to his feet, sitting back in his chair unsteadily as he gazed at Sonia with pity. "It's too bad. All she wanted was to exist."

"I guess," Isaac shrugged, turning to his companion. "Hey, you know any good drinking games? I know a great one with U.F.C. takedowns."

Alucard groaned.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who is reading, and especially those of you reviewing! Your reviews make my day a happy day. =)

Yes, the gang is finally all together! What do you guys think of super-beefy-manly-Isaac? I don't think I could ever go back to Curse of Darkness Isaac anymore...

Congrats to Lonewolf102 and LadyArmster for the trivia! And True Hyper Sonic, for your INCREDIBLY precise text-book answer, though you were late. ^^;;

Chapter Trivia #7 Answer:

_In this chapter, Isaac is able to build motorcycles and aircrafts. Is this too far fetched for our manly man?_

No! In Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, Hector and Isaac are both able to craft and modify Innocent Devils and weapons. Isaac's ability to create motorcycles and aircrafts isn't too far of a leap; however, he doesn't use magic anymore. He crafts them solely with his bare hands and manliness.

Chapter Trivia #8:

Sonia Belmont really was the heroine in a Castlevania game, and she was scheduled to be the heroine in another game before its cancellation (probably due to her unpopularity.) Which Castlevania game featured Sonia, and what was the name of the game that was eventually canceled? Review with your answer!


	9. Shit Happens

Leon Belmont awoke to a splitting headache. "Is this… what it feels like to die?"

"No, actually," Joachim commented from beside him. "Funny thing about being dead, you don't feel much of anything!"

The vampire stood up and frolicked away.

Leon cast his bleary gaze around the bar, recalling where they were and why he was laying on the floor. Isaac sat at the bar, pouring himself a mug of hot coffee. A miserable looking Soma sat next to him, his head clenched tightly in his hands. Joachim appeared to be playing darts in the background.

A regretful looking Sonia appeared to be mixing something that involved coffee and a raw egg for Soma. Alucard stood stoically off to the side of the bar.

Dracula was still passed out on the floor.

Bracing himself, Leon stood and slid into the seat next to Soma. "You ok, kid?"

"Uggghh… hurts like a mofo…" the silver haired youth groaned.

"He's been saying that all morning," Isaac commented, taking a gulp of his black coffee.

A mug of coffee containing a full raw egg and other odds and ends was slid in front of both Leon and Soma. "Here, this will help."

Leon looked up, surprised to find Sonia looking at him with sympathy. "Sonia?"

"It is a hangover remedy. It will make you feel better," she explained. "Look… I am sorry about what happened last night. I should not have done that to all of you."

"No harm done," Isaac affirmed.

"Says the one who drank _everyone _under the table, and then finished a bottle of 600 year old scotch _by himself_." Soma grumbled crossly.

Isaac shrugged.

Leon took a sip of the remedy experimentally and grimaced. "Ugh, this tastes terrible!"

"But it is the only way you will feel better," Sonia smirked and folded her arms. "Down the hatch!"

Seeing Leon's reaction, Soma picked up his mug and eyed it skeptically. Turning to the Belmont, he raised his cup to him. "Cheers."

After clinking mugs with Soma, Leon tossed down the contents of the container, letting the remedy burn the whole way down. "It kind of tingles."

A bright light filled Leon's entire field of vision, and for a moment, the Belmont thought he was in the afterlife. "Ach! So bright…"

Joachim tisked, "I pity you humans with your hangovers."

"Sonia…" Alucard began awkwardly. "I'm… sorry I don't remember you. Especially since it seems I meant a great deal to you."

"I shall not lie… seeing you without the happy loving recognition on your face hurts, but I think I shall be able to make peace with it eventually," Sonia said, then cast her gaze down. "My only regret is… our child…"

Seeing her tears, Alucard quickly fumbled for something to say. "Please don't cry!"

But cry she did. "To think that our innocent babe never had a chance at life…"

"I…" The half-vampire continued to find himself at a lack of words. Everyone else in the bar continued to watch their exchange, making it all the more uncomfortable for him.

"My poor child…." Sonia sniffled. "Trevor… may God have mercy on your unborn soul."

"…Trevor?" Alucard's eyes widened.

"Hey! One of my descendants' names is Trevor!" Leon shouted happily, then winced at the loudness and the smack he received from Soma for his outburst.

"Trevor Belmont existed in our timeline," Alucard explained gently, a small smile on his face. "He may not have been our son, but he valiantly fought for good his entire life. He lived well."

Sonia's tears faded, and a smile once again returned to her face. "He lived… and he lived well…" A small laugh escaped her lips. "That is more than I could have ever asked for."

Leon did feel remarkably better after the remedy, though his headache still lingered at a manageable level. "Well, I hate to be the spoil-sport, but I do think it's about time we headed out."

"Thank the gods." Isaac sighed, throwing an empty bottle of gin behind him. "I can't take much more soap opera drama."

Sonia nodded. "I am ready for whatever punishment you see fit for me. Please, all I ask is that you make it quick." She lifted her hands to her sides, closing her eyes.

"Ok," Joachim agreed, sending one of his blades straight for her head.

"No!" Leon shouted, whipping the blade away with the Vampire Killer.

"What do you mean 'no'? I do not understand…" Sonia frowned, opening her eyes again.

"Sonia, you may have a terribly bitter soul and perchance for drama, but you are not a bad person," Leon affirmed.

"Oh no. This had better not be going where I think it's going," Joachim groaned.

"You are indeed powerful, but I do not believe we would ever gain anything by killing you," Leon explained. "Would you consider joining us on our journey?"

Never had they seen her so happy. "I would! Of course I would!"

It was settled. An attempt was made to rouse Dracula from his undead slumber. When he refused to wake, Isaac carried the vampire out over his muscular shoulder.

They left the tavern, squeezed their way through the galactic hallway, and found their way back to the painted area, where clocks continued to float in the time-space continuum. Isaac picked up his motorcycle with a grin, throwing Dracula over the passenger seat and speeding away. Eager to finally look cool, Soma mounted his motorcycle and blared away after him.

While Joachim and Leon went on ahead through the entrance, arguing about what time it actually was, Alucard and Sonia hung back.

"Are you ready to finally leave?" He asked her.

Sonia gave him an expectant smile. "As long as you are by my side, I will be ready for anything."

Before he could protest, she took his hand and clasped it tightly.

Together, they walked through the door.

Alucard emerged from the room alone.

Joachim glanced back at him. "Where's that girl?"

"She…" Alucard looked at his empty hand, then shook his head, trying frantically to remember her name. "_That girl_… doesn't exist in this timeline."

Leon frowned. "I get the feeling we didn't defeat the demon behind this door, but we definitely spent at least a few hours in there."

Isaac's face contorted into a grimace as he thought. "She… must not have been too bad… since we are alive."

Even Soma groaned, "Who was she?"

Suddenly, Dracula sat up with a gasp, "Sonia you bitch I'll kill you!"

"Sonia!" Alucard gasped, as if recognition had suddenly hit him, but then the light began to fade from his eyes again. "She only existed in that room. When she tried to leave, she disappeared."

"I suppose we did kill her," Leon cast his gaze down sadly.

"Don't worry, Leon. I'm sure I'll get over it," Joachim assured his friend, patting him on the shoulder. "See? I'm already over it!"

"We would all do well to forget about Sonia," Alucard advised them sadly. "Memories of one who does not exist will only cloud our judgment and alter our perception of time."

For the next hour of traversing Castlevania, Alucard remained silent, which would have worried them if he wasn't always stoically emo.

"Your next foe is hidden in one of the highest turrets of Castlevania…" Dracula took up the slack of explaining while Alucard continued to stay quiet. "But first, we will have to get there by traversing one of my favorite places…"

With that, Dracula threw open the large wooden doors to the next area with a flourish. "The Clocktower!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared into the room ahead. A long corridor lined with deadly spikes greeted them, the floor broken in some places, replaced instead with large swinging pendulums. They could hear the ominous grinding of rotating gears from somewhere above them.

Medusa heads and large flying bats filled the hallway, drifting in every direction imaginable.

A wayward bat flew out of the room and flapped into Soma's face. He shooed the bat away by frantically waving his hands and immediately punched Dracula. "What _the hell?_ Why is your Clocktower ALWAYS such a fucking nightmare?"

"Watch yourself, boy," Dracula frowned, brushing off the place where Soma had hit him. "I bruise easily now."

"That… is actually a really good question," Leon commented. "Many of my descendants returned with horror stories about your Clocktower. Why did you build it?"

"Because he's a dick!" Soma answered for him, glaring at Dracula with contempt.

Dracula made no attempt to disagree.

Isaac cracked his knuckles. "It's about time I had a challenge." He revved his engine and peeled away into the Clocktower, punching bats and medusas (blue and gold alike) and leaving a wake of destruction in his path.

Feeling considerably safer with him on their side, the others ran, floated, and drove after him, doing their best to avoid the bats and medusas, who flew through the spikes, walls, and floor at them.

Just before Isaac reached the first pendulum, he gunned his motorcycle as fast as it would go, then popped a wheelie onto the pendulum, rotating the cycle around 180 degrees on the back tire to the next pendulum, where he rotated it another 180 degrees on the front tire. Finally, using the momentum of the swinging pendulum, Isaac flipped the cycle off the swinging metal and brought it down onto the floor on the other side.

"I can do that," Soma blurted immediately.

Leon looked at him doubtfully. "Soma, if you want to leave your motorcycle here, I'm sure we can always come back this way to get it…"

"Screw that," Joachim shook his head, "I'm not coming back to the Clocktower of Death."

"Actually, Death doesn't live here anymore," Dracula sighed wistfully.

Alucard finally snapped out of his silent trance when he heard Soma gunning it for the first pendulum, as Isaac had moments earlier. "Soma, no!"

Soma shocked them all by making it to the first pendulum in one piece. However, as he was overanxious, he jumped too soon and missed the second pendulum. His eyes widened in surprise, and time seemed to slow down around him.

Leon noted with amazement that time actually _was _slowing around them. The pendulum swings, Soma's descent, and even the Medusa heads all slowed down while the silver haired youth looked down at his motorcycle.

Soma shed a tear of remorse, hugging the frame lovingly and made up a small haiku, "Oh motorcycle. You were great and really fast. I'll miss you a lot." Then he closed his eyes, turned into a white bat, and flew away.

Away. Not to the other side of the gap in the floor… but _away_.

"Soma?" Alucard growled when the white bat just continued to fly up out of reach. Without another word to the others, he changed into a black bat himself and flew after him.

Time had returned to normal, yet Leon felt as though it was still moving slowly. "What… just happened?"

Joachim shrugged. "I think we're going to have to fight Dracula tonight."

"Only if you…" The lord of the night began ominously.

"Not you," the purple haired vampire immediately spun around, pressing an index finger into his chest. "The _Dracula_ that actually has his balls intact."

Joachim floated back as Dracula took a swipe at him. Leon was quick to step in and chastise them both. "We don't have time for this. Have it out elsewhere, if you must."

As he looked across the way, he could see Isaac yawning with boredom, lazily batting away Medusa heads with the back of his hand. With a grim expression, Leon ran and jumped to the first pendulum, but a Medusa head floated up through the floor and lightly tapped him.

"Uugh!" Leon flew backwards 10 feet with a grunt of despair.

He stood up, breaking up the fighting between Dracula and Joachim as he passed by them again and tried for the first pendulum once more. This time he was not ambushed. He made it to the second pendulum and joined Isaac on the other side of the room.

In response to his heroics, Isaac only shook his head and pointed back across the pit.

Dracula and Joachim were screaming and pulling each other's hair out.

Leon sighed. This was going to be a _long_ journey.

Sometime later, after suffering through the stoning of the golden Medusa heads, tediously climbing rotating gears, and impaling themselves several times on spikes, the four arrived at the top of the clocktower.

"You losers all look winded," Soma grinned, sitting with Alucard before the usual blood-skull engraved demon boss door.

"Soma!" Leon gasped in relief. "We…" He began to say, then looked doubtfully at the others. "_I_ was worried about you. Why did you disappear like that?"

Soma shrugged. "Didn't wanna go through the Clocktower again."

Nobody could blame him, much less a very guilty looking Alucard, who hastily made his way to his feet. "Our next foe will be…"

"An eight year old with hemophilia?" Joachim asked hopefully.

"…extremely dangerous," Alucard finished, much to the vampire's dismay. "This creature feeds off darkness… even goes so far as to _pull the darkness to it_."

"That doesn't seem so bad…" Isaac reasoned.

"We won't be able to see it, but it will see us," Alucard finished cryptically.

Joachim blinked. "I think it's Leon's turn to take out the monster by himself. You know, Belmont, and all that…"

Leon nodded resolutely. "It is indeed my responsibility to…"

"Leon-Fucking-Belmont, you are _not_ getting all the glory!"

Surprising them all, Soma sprung to his feet, clenching electricity in his fist. "So what if we can't see it? We'll figure out how to _beat it!_"

With a grim smile, Dracula made his way to the door, unlocking the demonic barrier. "I think that's enough moral uplifting for one day." He pushed open the door, revealing an all-consuming darkness beyond.

For a moment, the entire party hesitated, leery of entering this realm of blackness.

The next moment, Isaac had already peeled through the doorway on his motorcycle.

Dracula debated leaving his former favorite behind but resolutely walked through the door. Joachim grabbed his billowing cape and followed behind.

Alucard summoned a ball of flame, holding it delicately in his hands as he walked through the door, Leon and Soma at both his sides.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, the door forcefully slammed shut behind them, and Alucard's fire went out.

"Not funny, Allie! Turn the light back on!" Soma whined.

"It _is_ 'on,' though if you don't believe me, _you_ try to light this room." The half-vampire sighed.

"All right, I _will!_" Taking that as a challenge, Soma collected his strength, summoning a gigantic ball of lightning, then opened his hands. "HA!"

Nothing happened. Well, almost nothing.

"Ieyaa!" Dracula howled, anger apparent in his voice. "Watch where you're aiming, wannabe!"

"Well _sorrrrry!_ I can't see anything!" The youth bellowed back.

"Quiet, you'll alert its attention to us," Alucard advised, as usual, a little too late.

A loud boom echoed through the chamber. Followed by another. And another.

By the fifth resonating boom, the bass had become so loud that it shook them where they stood. No other sound gave away the nature of the demon, sending dread straight into their veins.

"Get ready!" Leon shouted, gripping the Vampire Killer tightly. "It's almost…!"

Suddenly, it was atop them.

Leon heard a grunt from Alucard and a piercing cry from Soma as they were flung away from him. Another shout seemed louder than the others, if that was possible.

Oh wait. That was his own.

Leon flew through the air screaming, landing roughly on his side, a shower of dirt and rock cascading after him. As he struggled to pick himself up, the sound of Isaac's motorcycle skidding and colliding with the ground reached his ears. The devil-forger was, of course, far too manly to scream.

Dracula and Joachim, however, were not. They both collided with the wall to Leon's left with a sickening splat. For a moment, he panicked with concern, and he had to remind himself that vampires healed quicker than most others. He clutched the Vampire Killer, listening to where he _thought_ the booming sound might be originating, and whipped.

The Vampire Killer wrapped around something, and Leon felt himself being pulled forward in a familiar manner.

"Watch it," Isaac's unmistakably manly voice advised, tossing the whip back to him.

"How did you…?" The Belmont began.

"A real man always knows when he's being attacked from behind," the devil-forger replied.

"But your motorcycle…"

"It didn't attack me from behind." Isaac responded glumly.

"Damn it!" Soma cursed, the sounds of him running their way unmistakable. "How are we supposed to beat this thing?"

Another boom, far too close for comfort landed beside them, scattering them again with another shower of rocks.

It seemed hopeless. Completely and utterly hopeless. How were they supposed to attack something they couldn't see? Already they had mistakenly attacked each other twice. At this rate, they would find themselves dead before the demon.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed through the room. Leon didn't have to spin around to find the source of the flash. This time it was right in front of him.

Joachim stood in front of him, briefly and clearly illuminated by white light as he frowned down at his hand. Moments later, he was softly illuminated again as he looked into the screen of his digital camera.

"I knew it. My shirt is ruined!" The vampire wailed in mourning.

"Joachim…!" Leon's eyes widened. "That light…"

"Yes yes, the light," Joachim sighed. "Zombie blood, Medusa head blood, _My_ blood… hey!"

Leon was atop him, snatching the camera from his hands. "This _whole time_… that bright light was _you taking pictures of yourself?_"

Joachim grabbed the camera back, the soft light allowing Leon to see him roll his eyes as if to say "well duh, what'd you think, dummy?"

"Why would you _do_ that?" The Belmont shook his head, trying to make sense of it.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Joachim pointed to himself. "I'm a _vampire_. No reflection, remember? This is the only way I can see what I look like."

"You _would_ bring a digital camera to Castlevania."

Joachim nodded.

"I hate to interrupt your comic-relief, but we have a _demon_ chasing us," Alucard reminded them, taking the camera from Joachim's hands. He fumbled with it momentarily. Then… "How does this confounded machine work?"

"Let the master show you," Joachim snatched his camera back, snapping a picture of a perplexed looking Alucard… with a very large and very menacing looking furry foot about to strike behind him. "Look Ou—!"

They found themselves scattered on the floor again, rocks raining down atop them most unpleasantly.

"Joachim! Keep taking pictures!" Alucard ordered.

"Ok!" The vampire agreed, hastily taking another picture of himself.

"Idiot, not of yourself," Dracula growled. "Of the room!"

Joachim caught on quickly, the bright light flashing around the room, revealing their dark earthen surroundings, each other, and finally, their foe.

"Oh my God…" Soma murmured in awe.

"Don't say the Lord's name in vain," Leon chastised him quickly.

In the center of the room, the demon awaited them. Despite being covered in a mass of fur, its hind leg muscles looked strong enough to kick in any wall. It was so tall that the tips of its long pointed ears brushed against the high ceiling in the massive chamber.

It didn't speak, but oh did it _stare_ with its beady red eyes.

"Unbelievable…" Alucard's voice trailed off. "It's…"

"…a giant Bunnicula," Isaac finished, assessing the situation with a grin.

The mammoth rabbit didn't move as quickly as one would think, but when it did, its mighty paws dug into the earthen ground, splashing debris and stones like dropping a boulder into a pond.

The game was on. Between the bright flashes of Joachim's camera, each of them attacked the rabbit, who suddenly fought and thumped back with the rage of at least 1,000 demonic bunnies.

Alucard stabbed the Alucard sword into its leg, but the rabbit kicked him off as if he were just some small annoying pest. It shook off all five of Joachim's blades, barely recoiled to the Vampire Killer, and scoffed at Soma's magical attacks. When Isaac drove his motorcycle into it, he was absorbed by the layers of fluffy coating and expelled like a sneeze.

Dracula alone had yet to attack. He opened his cape, intending to send destructive flaming dark inferno meteors at it, but then realized that he was a little hungry. Instead, he pulled out a carrot, ready to drink its deliciously fresh veggie juice.

Suddenly, the bunny turned its head. It sniffed once. Twice. Then it hopped faster than they had seen it move, straight for the Count.

Realizing that his snack was at stake, Dracula backed away, but he too became absorbed in the massive layers of delightfully downy fur. The carrot was plucked ruthlessly from his grasp.

As Dracula cried bloody emo tears, mourning the loss of his carrot, the others were certain they had never felt relief like this before in their lives.

The bunny was _shrinking_. With each bite of the carrot, it shrank a little smaller, until finally, Leon scooped up the fluff-ball in his hands. "It's kinda cute now." A gentle smile spread across his face as he looked to the others. "Do you think we should…?"

The sound of a shotgun being fired rang out, and the rabbit was no more. While Soma whooped when the bunny's soul flew into him, and Joachim beamed happiness as he discreetly caught the dripping blood in his Starbucks cup, Leon looked over at the source of the shot, mortified.

Isaac had already half-way disassembled the shot-gun, replacing the parts back on his motorcycle. "Hunting season," was his only explanation.

Deciding that he _really_ needed to think about who he associated with better, Leon dropped the lifeless bunny into one of the holes it had made in the ground, covering it up with some dirt. "… I guess not."

"Don't get so down," Joachim advised, as he took a happy sip from his recycled cup. "Remember, it _was_ trying to kill us. And it _was_ a demon. Isn't killing them what we came here to do?"

"It was _so fuzzy_…" Leon sniffled, continuing to mourn, while Dracula wept openly beside him over his lost vegetable.

Seeing Dracula's distress, Alucard shifted uncomfortably, as if debating whether or not he should do something.

"I can not believe I am about to do this…" Alucard walked up to Dracula, opening his cape in a familiar fashion, and pulled forth a head of broccoli. Awkwardly, he held it out to the weeping man before him. "Here… take it. Happy Father's Day."

"Father?" Perplexed, Dracula wiped his eyes and accepted the vegetable. "I thought you hated me… wanted to _kill_ me…"

"I did," the half-vampire agreed, "but I have seen that you are not the man you once were. I think… I can finally accept you as my father again."

Touched, Dracula rose to his feet, embracing a stunned Alucard. "Oh Adrian… thank you… thank you."

"If you two are done, I'd like to leave this room of darkness now. My camera's going to run out of batteries soon," Joachim sighed, unhappily snapping another photograph to light the room. "And Leon, cut it out. Shit happens."

Soma pried a reluctant Leon from the bunny's grave as they made their way back out into the light.

* * *

**Thank you thank you thank you reviewers! You brighten my day!**

**Congrats to:** **Nano*Mecka, Wild Fantasy, and LadyArmster!** I'm amazed that so many people knew the correct answer to my trivia! IMHO, this chapter's question is easier, so I hope even more people get this one!

**TrueHyperSonic:** You're awesome! I hope this chapter answered your question about Sonia and Alucard's child… In response to your question about CV3, I have for you a link! Dun dun dun… (bleh, stupid ff dot net, replace all the (dot)s with a period.)

www(dot)vgmuseum(dot)com/end/nes/a/cv3-3(dot)htm

I hope that link showed up. If it didn't, you know my email. (But I don't know yours! Oh, the irony!) I'll send it to you. Basically, Syfa is a girl, but Trevor is kind of a moron. He got Leon's stupid gene and didn't realize that she was a girl until the end of the game, when she throws off her hood. This is only revealed if you beat the game with Syfa. You can also beat it with Alucard and with Trevor, where Syfa does not reveal her secret and Trevor remains a moron.

Chapter Trivia #8 Answer:

_Sonia Belmont really was the heroine in a Castlevania game, and she was scheduled to be the heroine in another game before its cancellation (probably due to her unpopularity.) Which Castlevania game featured Sonia, and what was the name of the game that was eventually cancelled? Review with your answer!_

Sonia Belmont was the heroine in the game Castlevania: Legends. The cancelled game that was scheduled to feature Sonia again was called Castlevania: Resurrection.

Chapter Trivia #9:

In this chapter, Isaac punches blue and gold medusa heads alike without any problems. If he were anyone but our manly hero Isaac, what _should_ have happened to him, and why? Review with your answer!


	10. Waste Not Want Not

Soma was about to go out of his mind. One minute, they were casually traversing Castlevania. The next, Dracula was telling a joke.

"Do you know what the dairy farmer said to the genetic engineer?" The lord of the night asked expectantly.

"No, I don't," Leon admitted. "Did he talk about cows?"

"NO!" Dracula bellowed with rage. "He didn't say ANYTHING because he's STUPID for being a farmer and treating cows that way and because MILK SUCKS!"

"Oh…" The Belmont arched an eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Drac, that was the worst joke I've ever heard," Soma informed him. "I mean, seriously, I'll bet Joachim could even do better."

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" Joachim, hearing his name, immediately responded without thought.

"Nevermind," Soma sighed.

"It wasn't a joke," Dracula heaved a miserable sigh. "Do you think I _like_ that they're treating cows with growth hormones and feeding them antibiotics? Don't they realize that causes them to be in PAIN, and it's bad for the ENVIRONMENT, and that eventually the antibiotics will KILL them?"

"Actually," Alucard corrected, "Antibiotics do not kill the cattle. Feeding antibiotics to them will expose more bacteria to our medicines, allowing a greater chance for bacteria to develop a resistance to our antibiotics, confer it to other bacteria, and multiply, thus creating more deadly diseases for everyone, cattle and humans alike."

"Whew, I was worried for a second there," Leon sighed in relief.

Alucard looked at him sharply. "You're a human. That's bad."

"Oh," Leon again assumed a worried expression.

"See! Milk sucks!" Dracula persisted. "I learned all about it in on Milk Sucks dot com!"

"If you _skinny bitches_ are done," Isaac calmly interjected, pointing forward, "I think we're about to run into a problem."

Following Isaac's finger, they found a large gaping hell hole, spewing fire and brimstone, directly in their path.

As they came up to it, Isaac whistled, peering over the edge into the licking flames. "Cheery."

Leon whipped his gaze quickly at Dracula. "Mathias, what were you _thinking_ when you built this?"

"It's Dracula," The lord of the night reminded him and shrugged. "Castlevania gets cold at night."

"It's _always_ night!" the Belmont protested.

"It's always cold," Dracula rebuked.

"I certainly can't argue with that," Joachim sipped the last of his drink, frowned at his empty cup, and put it away. "But this is terribly inconvenient."

"We could go another way," Alucard offered, "If we loop back through the Marble Gallery to the Outer Wall and go through the Clock Tower…"

"NO!" they all agreed unanimously, hearing those dreaded two words.

"Besides," Dracula commented off-handedly, pointing down into the center of the hell-hole. "I put the last demon gate down there."

"You asshole! Why would you _DO THAT?_" With a cry of rage, Soma tackled Dracula, sending them both over the edge of the chasm and into the fiery flames below.

"Soma!" Alucard panicked, diving in after them.

Just for fun, Isaac drove his motorcycle into the charring chasm.

Knowing that he should save his friends if they were in trouble, Leon hardened his expression, gripping the Vampire Killer and looking over at his vampire friend. "Are you ready?"

Joachim waved him ahead. "By all means, jump into certain death. I'll wait here until things _cool down_ a bit. See? I can tell a joke."

With a grim nod, Leon jumped in.

The vampire waited, sitting beside the fire. Not long after Leon disappeared, a blonde haired woman with four arms and four swords sat next to him.

"So, what's _your_ name?" She asked seductively, flipping aside a lock of her thick long hair with one of her blades.

"Joachim," the vampire replied, chancing a glance at her. "You?"

"Durga," she smiled.

"Oh really?" he grinned, recognizing the name, then sent his oversized blades through her body, listening to her wail as she disappeared.

In her place sat a steaming mug of coffee.

"Perfect," Joachim smiled, transferring the black liquid into his Starbucks cup. He took a sip and frowned. "Ugh… _decaf_…"

Before he could take another sip, he heard a familiar scream emanate from the unholy pit below. Startled, he leaned forward, "Leon?"

Indecision tore at him. Finally, he dumped the coffee into the fires before him. "I hate decaf." Deciding that his logic was sound, he jumped into the pit…

…and landed perfectly unscathed next to a coffee-drenched Soma.

"May I ask…" the pale haired youth began calmly, but his voice picked up and piqued quickly. "…what the _fuck compelled you to __**pour your coffee on me?**_**"**

"Duh, it was _decaf_," Joachim explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

And really, it was. "Eh, ok." Soma tilted his head to the side, seeing the reasoning in that, then used his water and wind magic to rinse and dry himself.

"How are we alive?" Joachim questioned them, looking at a perfectly healthy Leon especially. "Didn't I just hear you scream?"

"We're alive because Soma willed the castle to allow us to live," Alucard patiently explained, rolling his eyes as the youth took a bow. "And Leon screamed because he saw a spider."

"I hate spiders," Leon shuddered.

"Leon-Fucking-Belmont's afraid of spiders?" Soma grinned, then flicked his finger, instantaneously sending all the spiders in the chasm away with tiny cries of anguish. "Not a prob."

Leon was visibly relieved.

"You've gained control of Castlevania and its creatures remarkably quickly," Alucard noted cryptically.

Dracula frowned and spoke in a dead-pan voice, "Yes… amazing isn't it."

"It's great!" Soma held out his hands, willing all the flames in the pit away with a smile. "I never realized Castlevania was so _easy to control…_"

Alucard watched the action, his eyes widening. "Soma, you need to stop using Dracula's powers _right now_," he ordered urgently.

"Why? We would all be _dead_ if I hadn't!" The pale haired youth scowled. "Besides, _someone_ should use Dracula's magic because _he _sure as hell isn't using them!"

At this, all eyes curiously fell onto the current lord of the night, who had been trying to ignore this whole interchange. Alucard thought about it, and realized with a shock that Soma was actually right.

Their entire time in Castlevania, Dracula had not used _any_ of his magical abilities. No teleporting… no throwing fireballs… nothing.

Alucard tentatively approached the vampire lord, peering at him cautiously. "Father… what is happening to you?"

"I…" Dracula hesitated.

"He's lost his powers."

They turned to face Isaac, who had crossed his arms as he leaned back against his motorcycle, a cigar hanging from his mouth to ward away the drama. "I could tell the moment we met again."

"You knew?" The vampire asked, astounded.

"I was once a magic-user myself," the devil-forger admitted to it as if he had revealed he was once a crack-whore. "Dracula, you don't have the same aura anymore. It used to be a healthy, deep crimson, but now…" Isaac took a deep drag off his stogie, peering closely at the lord of the night, "It looks more of a sickly _broccoli_ green…"

"Broccoli…" Alucard murmured, his eyes cast at the stone floor, deep in concentration. Suddenly he looked up, "…Vegetables… it… can't be!"

"What?" Dracula sighed, wishing more than anything that this embarrassing conversation was over.

"Father…" the dhampire fixed the vampire with a look of complete seriousness. "I think I know why your powers have mysteriously vanished."

"Well, don't keep us all in suspense," Joachim remarked dryly.

Alucard ignored the other vampire. "How long has it been since you drank blood?"

"At least thirty years… perhaps longer," Dracula replied suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"You are the lord of all the vampires and the master of this castle. Your power and control stems from your blood," Choosing his words carefully, Alucard made certain he kept eye-contact with Dracula. "But you have chosen to forsake the blood, as have I, and from experience I know what that will do."

"No…" Dracula growled lowly, his eyes turning a shade of red at the suggestion. "You became such a pathetic weakling child…no!"

Ignoring his protests, the dhampire continued, "Without blood, your powers never manifested themselves after your resurrection. You are lord of this castle by name alone."

"NO!" The former lord of the night roared, clutching his head in his hands.

Leon was lost. "I don't understand…"

"Of course you don't," Joachim proceeded to explain helpfully. "He doesn't have powers anymore because he's a vegan,"

"And as we all know…" Alucard began.

"…vegans are pussies." Isaac finished, taking a final drag off his cigar before he threw it to the ground, stamping it out with his boot.

Alucard blinked. That wasn't what he was going to say, but he supposed it was close enough.

"Oh…" Leon suddenly felt his heart go out to Dracula. For once, he had tried to do the right thing, and this was his reward? A single tear slipped from his eye.

"_GOD Leon, who's the pussy, Dracula or __**you?**__" _Sara raged from within the whip. _"Stop crying and __**do something**__ for once!"_

Leon, as usual, couldn't hear his dearest in the whip, but he dutifully reminded Isaac, "Don't litter."

"Don't sweat it," Soma said, pointing to the cigar butt and incinerating it with magical fire not unlike the flame of excitement in his eyes. "There's bigger stakes at hand…"

"Soma?" Leon questioned, watching as the youth walked confidently up to the demon-boss door that had been revealed with the dousing of the flames.

Laying a hand on the door, Soma grinned wickedly and willed it to open. "I know what rests behind this door…!" When the gateway obeyed his command and swung open, he gleefully jumped into the chamber ahead of them all.

It took Alucard a moment before he realized that Soma had disappeared, for he was busy consoling Dracula, who was again weeping bloody emo tears. Panicked, he looked to the only one he felt he could truly trust. "Leon!"

"What is it?" The Belmont asked, as he began coiling his Vampire Killer whip so that he could put it away.

"You need to go after Soma now!" Alucard desperately tried to heave up his weeping father, but to no avail. "Whatever he is planning to do… you must stop him!"

"I understand," Leon nodded gravely to each of his companions. "Alucard, please bring Mathias as soon as possible. Joachim, Isaac… let's go."

However, just as the trio were about to disappear through the door, a feeble croaking sound caught their attention, pulling them momentarily back.

"It's… Dracula…" The lord of the night wept, finally stumbling to his feet. He dried his eyes, blinking back any future tears. "I may not have my powers anymore, but I still have my pride. I won't let you go alone, Leon."

"But he's not going alone," Joachim pointed out. "Isaac and I were going too."

Dracula ignored the other vampire, patting Leon on the shoulder good-naturedly. "No, you won't go alone."

Leon found Mathias's dramatics a little over-the-top, but he grinned, happy to have his old comrade back. "All right, then. Let's go."

Together, they walked through the door. At least, they tried too, but they found out that six people are tough to fit through a door at the same time. Readjusting, they walked through the door in pairs.

They found Soma standing by a large painted demonic seal that still appeared fresh with blood. The room was oddly vacant of any other presence, human or demon. Tall thin candelabras stood in lines alongside the cold stone walls, lighting the room. Vividly gaudy red tapestries adorned the granite brick walls. Next to the seal, an open ebony coffin sat raised on a marble pedestal.

Soma's back was to them as he murmured, "It's here, I can feel it…"

"What is here, Soma?" Alucard asked tentatively, like a psychiatrist would, while approaching the youth slowly. "I haven't told you anything about this boss yet."

"You don't need to," the youth chuckled. "This is the place it all begins…"

"The room of beginning?" Leon asked, equally cautious.

"You could say that," Dracula interjected when Soma failed to respond. "This was the room of my awakening."

"You _slept down here?_" The Belmont asked, disgusted. "By the _hellfire?_"

"I told you, Castlevania gets cold at night," Dracula maintained. "And I wasn't asleep. I was dead until the cultist brought me back to life."

"Wait wait wait…" Joachim spun towards him, holding a finger in the air. "You mean someone actually _went through the flames of hell_ to bring you back?"

"Never underestimate the undying devotion of a cultist," The lord of the night advised solemnly.

"You fucking awoke here, and here, I shall fucking awake too!" Soma cried as he took a step into the scarlet-lined ebony coffin.

"Soma, what's wrong with you?" Leon shouted, walking more briskly than before towards the scene before him.

"_That_..." Joachim said, pointing to the wild looking youth in front of them. "...is Soma going _**crazy**_. Trust me, I know these things."

Leon didn't deny that he knew, and quite well, but still he found himself murmuring, "No..." Desperately, he grabbed Soma's arm, pulling him back urgently. "Soma, come back to us! You're still you!"

Soma finally whipped his head around, facing Leon with reddened eyes and a near maniacal grin. "Leon-Fucking-Belmont, you're _not_ stopping me this time!" With a shout, he threw Leon back with strength he didn't even know he had, sending the Belmont half-way across the room where he gently collided into Alucard.

"Oof!" The dhampire grunted, being pushed back by the force of the blow. Together, they both flew backwards twenty feet into the wall next to the door.

Before anyone else could act, Soma had touched his hand to the blood-inscripted seal. A brilliant light emanated from the dark pattern, accompanied by an equally magnificent shockwave. Within moments, the others all found themselves thrown back against the wall next to Alucard and Leon.

Despite the fact that he felt like his left lung had been collapsed, and it probably had, Leon struggled to his feet and grunted, "Soma... don't do this... I still believe in you."

"Foolish Belmont…" The light aura that once surrounded Soma evaporated into a halo of darkness. As the youth turned around to face them again, the irises of his eyes were unmistakably blood-red, his hair tousled wildly, and his grin undeniably evil. Holding out his hand, he commanded the door to the room to slam shut.

"Soma, what are you doing?" Alucard demanded.

"Oh Allie, you and I both know that I can't let you leave," Soma purred. His posture, tone of voice, and indeed, everything about him seemed twisted into a more sinister being. "You would only come back to hunt me down..."

Alucard's face filled with regret. Silently, he nodded to Soma, then turned to his companions. "You know what must be done..." In one fluid motion, he unsheathed the Alucard sword and held it up meaningfully.

"Woah woah woah!" Leon exclaimed, holding up his hands. "This is _Soma_ we're talking about... we can't kill him!"

"We shouldn't have to kill him, because I am still alive." Dracula observed. "He may have my powers, but he doesn't have my complete soul. We only need to jar him out of this... _phase_... he is going through."

"But... how can we do that?" The Belmont, having never been good at raising children, clenched his Vampire Killer whip nervously. If only he had taken a more active role in the lives of his kids!

"Simple," Isaac stated grimly, firmly clenching his fists. "It's time to teach this punk-ass a lesson."

Without further hesitation, Isaac ran forward, delivering punches and kicks firmly to the newly arisen dark lord. Soma activated a kung-fu skeleton soul, countering his physical moves with alarming ease.

Leon continued to hesitate, staying back even as Dracula and Alucard rushed forward to help. "I don't see how this is going to stop him from becoming a dark lord."

"Of course you don't," Joachim patiently turned to his old friend. "Think... what does Soma treasure the most?"

"His love for Mina?" Leon ventured.

"Stupid tragic lover-boy," the vampire tisked. "Think again."

Leon thought again. "His clothes?"

"Try again," Joachim responded dryly, feeling his patience beginning to wear thin.

Leon tried again. "His 'Bitchin' new attack'?"

"Close enough," the vampire grinned. "His collection of souls."

At that moment, Alucard managed to land a blow on Soma, eliciting an anguished cry from the youth as a small light blue-colored soul flew out of his body.

Finally, Leon got it. Grimly, he gripped the Vampire Killer, uncoiling it to its full length in preparation. "I think I understand. We have to..."

"...beat the souls out of him!" Joachim laughed gleefully, sending his blades (with the blunt ends facing forward) at Soma. A small red-colored soul flew out of him.

"NO!" Soma roared, opening the folds of his coat and sending hundreds of large fiery meteors in every direction.

Quickly, the group performed the 5 D's and dodged, dipped, ducked, dived, and dodged for cover. Even Isaac ended up slightly singed from the heat.

"I never knew that was possible..." Leon turned sharply to Dracula. "Why didn't _you_ ever attack like that?"

"It makes a complete mess of my hair," the lord of the night explained.

Indeed, Soma's hair was now quite tangled, but he didn't seem to care. "You won't take them... I won't let you have them!"

And yet, as time passed, he did. Despite his best efforts, soul after soul flew to freedom from Soma as each punch, whip, strike, and verbal insult (courtesy of Dracula) hit him.

"You could never be _half_ the lord of darkness I am," Dracula taunted him, quickly avoiding another hellfire blast from the would-be lord of darkness.

"Like you can talk!" Soma scowled. "You lost all of your powers to veganism!"

"By the time I was your age, I had already conquered a few countries..." Dracula chuckled as he pointed out, "_without_ any dark powers."

A not very useful yellow soul flew out of Soma's body.

"_Aargh!_" the silver haired youth cried. Desperate to retaliate, he attacked Isaac while his back was turned.

Isaac caught his fist, grabbed him around the waist, and pile-drived him onto the stone floor.

Not about to stay phased, Soma sprung up, only to feel the sting of the Vampire Killer followed by five sword hilts that drove him up into the ceiling.

As the youth fell down onto the floor again, a few various colored souls escaping his body as he did so, Leon winced, "Sorry..."

"Don't be," Soma forced himself to his feet again, spitting to the side to make him look more bad-ass. "I'm just getting started."

"Oh, that is _so_ cheesy..." Joachim muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"You want cheese?" Soma grinned.

"No!" Dracula exclaimed, horrified. "Those poor cows!"

Paying no heed to the vegan vampire, Soma concentrated, holding his hands above him. His eyes snapped open, and with a vindictive cackle, he did his worst.

Soma tossed a pizza onto Dracula.

"AAAAAUUUGGGHHH!" The lord of the night wailed, flailing miserably as the pizza struck him in the chest. "Pepperoni! Those poor... uhh... what is pepperoni made out of?"

Isaac shrugged. "Mystery meat?"

Alucard was tempted to inform them otherwise, but he found that there were more pressing issues at hand. "Leon, look out!"

The Belmont turned around just in time to find a plate of curry heaved into his arms.

"AAAAA!" Leon cried as he let the dish fall to the ground. "It's... so _spicy!_"

"You should be ashamed of yourself," Isaac murmured darkly. "...wasting food like this..."

"You don't like it?" Soma taunted. "Then why don't you do something about it?"

Isaac did. As he paced slowly towards Soma, he knocked aside pizzas, plates of pasta, roasts, and delicious ice cream cones with a solemn expression chiseled into his face. Nobody knew the inner agony he went through, the screams of tortured souls he heard in his head, as he batted aside each cuisine.

Finally, he reached Soma, grabbing him by his fur-lined collar. "Waste not…" He growled, heaving the youth across the room. "…want not!"

Deciding that he needed a new tactic, Soma focused instead on his form, turning into a bat. He flew into a high and difficult to reach corner and started launching fire balls at them.

Unable to do much, the group tolerated the cheap flames for a little while. Then, half of them remembered that they could turn into bats too.

Alucard and Joachim changed forms into dark red, and purple bats respectively. Joachim squeaked with dismay as his empty plastic Starbucks cup fell to the floor. Resolutely, the duo dodged Soma's cheap attacks and tackled him onto the ground.

Isaac, Leon, and Dracula hovered closely over the scene, watching with morbid fascination as the three little bats fluttered around on the floor squeaking, biting, and tossing flames at each other.

"I'm betting on the white one." Isaac said, pulling out some gold pieces. "You in?"

"No!" Leon exclaimed indignantly. "The white one's Soma!"

"Oh." Isaac put his gold away. "Too bad."

All at once, the bats seemed to realize that they weren't gaining anything by being in bat form any longer. Isaac, Leon, and Dracula were thrown back as three men materialized where three tiny bats had once been.

"...am certainly _not_ a 'yuppie vampire!'" Joachim's bat-shriek transformed into intelligible speech as he shifted back to his vampire form. "I merely have a more refined taste."

Alucard had pinned Soma down, grimacing as the youth changed from biting his wing to sinking strangely longer than normal teeth into his arm. "Soma-damnit-snap-out-of-it!" He shouted, shoving Soma's head on the ground and knocking a soul free with each word.

Eventually, Soma kicked the dhampire off him and staggered up, licking the remnants of Alucard's blood off his lips. "You may think you've got me, but I can play this game forever... I have THOUSANDS of souls at my disposal!"

Alucard didn't doubt that fact. He calculated that it would actually only take them about a week to beat them all out of Soma, but he didn't believe the others would want to fight quite that long. As Leon, Joachim, and Isaac jumped back into the fight, distracting Soma, he turned to face Dracula with the utmost seriousness. "Father, there is something you must do to end this."

Dracula appeared touched. "My son needs my help? Oh, I'm so happy!"

Alucard scowled. "Don't be... you won't like this, but you must do it to end this struggle and bring Soma back to his senses."

The vampire didn't particularly like the sound of that, but he nodded resolutely. "I shall do what I must."

While the others continued to beat souls out of Soma, Alucard pulled Dracula over to the open coffin that still rested untouched on the marble pedestal.

"You want me to go back to sleep?" Dracula questioned doubtfully.

"No..." The half-vampire shook his head, gesturing to the demonic seal still stained with fresh blood. "Though it pains me to say it... you must reclaim your rightful place as the lord of this castle."

"What?" Dracula took a step back, hearing the unspoken words in his son's voice. "You mean for me to..."

"Yes," Alucard insisted. "You must absorb the blood from the seal. It has not dried in five days, because it waits for you to consume it. Thankfully, Soma didn't figure that out."

"But... I can't..." The lord of the night floundered pathetically and shook his head. "I've made a life-changing decision..."

"I know you have, and I respect that decision more than you know," the dhampire winced and spoke softly. "After this, I would be proud to call you my father if you continue on that path."

"Then why…" Dracula began, but was quickly cut off.

"This is the only way to fully bring Soma back to his senses," Alucard explained firmly. "If the castle fully accepts you as its lord, it will reject Soma, and he will be free of the curse."

Seeing the desperation in his son's eyes, Dracula felt compelled to step forward, slowly drawing himself closer and closer to the inevitable. He forced himself to step into the coffin, and as he raised his hand, he glanced back once more at Alucard.

The pleading look his son gave him sealed his resolve. "For you, Adrian."

When he touched the seal, the room began to shake violently, and Dracula found himself surrounded in a cloud of darkness. The blood from the inscription flowed in smooth rivulets to his hand and into his body. Unable to watch his horrible transformation any longer, Dracula shut his eyes, thankful that nobody else could see the bloody emo tears he was crying.

As each drop of crimson fluid absorbed into his body, the lord of the night felt a mixture of both pain and power. By the time the blood had completely disappeared, Dracula knew the castle was once again his to command.

Before he did anything else, Dracula collected his thoughts, calmed his emotions, and wiped his eyes. Then, with a wave of his hand, the dark cloud disappeared and the shaking stopped.

The first person he saw was Alucard, who actually appeared happy for once in his life. Immediately, Dracula knew that he had made the right decision.

"It's red again."

Dracula looked up to see his former-favorite, Isaac, who was grinning madly.

"Mathias has regained his powers?" Leon exclaimed.

Joachim looked over at the unusually quick Belmont, startled. Then, he noticed his recycled plastic Starbucks cup sitting forlornly by his side. He discreetly picked it up and stowed it away.

"He fucking _what?_" Soma exclaimed.

"It's Dracula," He reminded Leon, then addressed them all. "And yes… it would appear that I am lord of this castle again by _more_ than name alone."

To prove his point, the vampire flicked his hand forward and clenched his fist, pulling all the tall candelabras from their resting places on the sides of the room to surround Soma. In a matter of moments, the youth was rendered completely motionless by the criss-crossing long metal candelabras around his body.

"_AAAAARRRRRHHH!_" Soma growled, struggling against his metallic confines. Before he could blink, Dracula had already teleported in front of him. "No! You can't do this to me! I won't let you take them!"

"Boy, who do you think I am? Do you _really _think I need your little collection of souls?" Dracula scoffed as he peered down at the youth.

"Uhh… _yes_…?" Soma answered.

"I _gave_ the monsters their souls. I won't be needing them back from you, but there is something else I require…" Dracula couldn't say why, but he intrinsically knew what must be done. Somehow, he finally understood his strange predicament with Soma.

Dislike it as he may, part of him resided in Soma now. That fraction of his soul now belonged to the youth trapped before him, and the only way he could reclaim that would be to kill the boy. Though he was somewhat tempted to do so, he knew that Alucard would never forgive him if he did.

Besides, it wouldn't dampen his power _that_ _much_ to allow the boy to live, would it? Confident in his decision, Dracula touched his hand to the boy's forehead, concentrating on only pulling out the parts of his soul that were affiliated with the castle and the chaotic darkness that bound it.

In mere moments, the dark aura around Soma faded. The deed was done. After Dracula released him from the confines of the candelabras, Soma weakly stumbled on his feet, struggling to stay standing. Knowing it was time for his famous last words, he looked meaningfully at them all.

"Fuck..."

Ungracefully, Soma fell to the floor in a heap.

Sighing, Alucard sheathed his sword and knelt beside the youth, turning him over in his arms. "You really made a mess of things this time."

Soma grinned. "But I was... so cool..."

With that, the would-be lord of darkness passed out.

"He is only asleep," Alucard assured Leon before the concerned Belmont could ask. He hefted the boy up with ease over his shoulder, carrying him towards the door to the room. "But I don't envy the headache he will have when he wakes."

* * *

**Thank you, dear reviewers!** I love you all. ^_^

**Congrats to:** **Great chapters so far** (btw, thanks!), **Wild Fantasy**, and **Lonewolf 102** for correctly answering the trivia!

There are only two more fights left! I wonder, can any of you guess what angelic beings they will fight? I'm sure that some of you know them. ^_^

Chapter Trivia #9 Answer:  
_In this chapter, Isaac punches blue and gold medusa heads alike without any problems. If he were anyone but our manly hero Isaac, what should have happened to him, and why? Review with your answer!_  
Anyone but Isaac (or Alucard wearing the Mirror Armor) would have been petrified into a delightful stony statue. Isaac doesn't have time to be petrified, he has far more manly things to do.

Chapter Trivia #10:  
Soma attacks the group with hundreds of large fiery meteors in this chapter. Dracula has this attack too, but he doesn't use quite this many. How many flaming dark infernos does Dracula typically throw at his foes? Review with your answer!


	11. Be Careful What You Wish For

Soma wasn't very happy when he awoke. "Fucking fuck!" He growled, clutching his head.

Realizing that he was back to normal, Alucard put the youth down on the ground, then fixed him with a stern glare. "You didn't listen to me."

Soma rolled his eyes, then looked away noncommittally.

Alucard didn't wait for a response. "I don't know how much you remember, but thanks to your insolence, Dracula was forced to take some extreme measures."

"What does that have to do with me?" Soma finally questioned.

"I took part of your soul," Dracula explained cheerfully.

"You _what?_" The silver haired youth exclaimed. "I need that to live!"

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" The lord of the night acquiesced, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "_Technically_, you only need _part_ of your soul to live. I took away the part of your soul that was connected with my castle. You'll find that you can still use the souls in your collection though."

Leon was confused.

Seeing the puzzled look on the Belmont's face, Dracula explained before he could ask. "Soma has his own soul, but he was also born with most of mine. During my recent resurrection, a large part of my soul left Soma and came back to my body. I merely took a little more of that soul earlier, strengthening my power and weakening his."

"You still haven't explained how he can use souls, though," Leon pointed out.

"Quite true," the lord of the night concurred. "_A fraction_ of my soul is still within Soma. Though that isn't much, similar to the wonderful benefits of homeopathy, his own soul remembers the abilities that mine carried with it, even though much of my soul no longer resides in his body."

"Homeopathy?" Joachim interjected. "I thought that was just quackery."

"How dare you!" Dracula suddenly spun around on the other vampire, a passionate fire in his eyes. "Homeopathy has many medical benefits without the danger of using manufactured antibiotics and medicines! With its complicated powers of water memory, water will retain the molecular memory of medicines without causing harm to the environment! The power of the dilution is both magnificent and terrible!"

"Hmm," Joachim pressed his lips together noncommittally, then looked at the vampire's son. "Alucard?"

"It's quackery," the half-vampire affirmed.

"Thought so," he nodded.

"The castle…" Soma curled into a weeping ball of emo. "I can't command it anymore…"

"Oh please," Dracula rolled his eyes. "You can't tell it to _close doors_ anymore…"

"_Ladies_," Isaac sighed. "If you're done bitchin' about souls and shit, don't we have something else to accomplish?"

"We do," Leon nodded solemnly but did not elaborate.

"There are still two angelic beings sealed in this castle. I pity them," Alucard said morosely. "Creatures of pure goodness and light, trapped within Castlevania amongst all its evil… it must be torture."

"I am certain they are getting by just fine," Dracula scoffed. "Besides, my castle is not such a bad place to live."

"Speak for yourself," Joachim responded dryly.

"You know… we don't necessarily have to defeat them," Leon suggested quietly, drawing everyone's attention.

Even Soma curled out of his post-Dracula-emo-shell. "Fuck that, we came here to put Castlevania to rest! You said so yourself in the Starbucks before we left. We're not gonna fuck this shit up now after all we've done!"

"Well, we don't _have_ to beat them. They aren't really hurting anything," the Belmont continued.

"This isn't like you," Joachim eyed his old friend, assessing him critically. "Leon, if you aren't feeling…" the vampire paused, searching for the right word. "…_well_… then, you can sit this next one out. I'm sure we can handle it."

"No, no, I'm quite all right," Leon assured him, and everyone else who had started to look at him with concern after Joachim's suggestion. "You're right. We should confront the angelic being and put it to rest."

"A wise choice," Alucard nodded, leading the party back through the castle with a dramatic swish of his suit jacket. "Shall we?"

Everyone followed the half-vampire through the castle until they reached a familiar door. It was, in fact, the one they had passed by recently on the way to Sonia's tavern. When they reached the gateway, they all stood about gawking at the angelic engraving. The bright white lines in the baby blue surface pulsed with holy goodness.

Forming a half-circle around the structure, it seemed nobody wanted to be the first to step forward and engage the door.

"I wish we didn't have to do this." With a heavy sigh, Leon walked up to the sealed door, touching his fingertips lightly to the azure surface.

A bright light filled the hallway.

Dracula nudged Joachim not-so-subtly with his elbow. "Now isn't the time to take pictures of yourself."

"I didn't," Joachim murmured the truth, his eyes widening as the door slid open. "Leon, are you _sure_ you're ok? You know you don't have to…"

"Yes, I'm fine. Besides, you'll need me for this one," Leon nodded, then waved them forward as he passed through the archway. "Let's go."

As the group stepped into the room, three of them knew immediately that they were in trouble.

Dracula and Joachim had both instantly fallen to their knees on the ground by the door, clutching their heads and screaming in agony. Alucard leaned back against the wall to stabilize himself, breathing heavier and looking worse for wear in general.

Leon simply continued to obliviously walk forward, and Isaac appeared fine.

Soma merely felt a little more annoyed than usual, and when he finally looked up from his fallen companions to the room, he knew the cause of their misery.

It seemed they had stepped into the large entryway of a beautifully antiquated church. The ceilings arched a hundred feet overhead, supported by great stone pillars along the wall. From the ceiling in the back, a large cross hung suspended before an enormous stained glass window. An impressive pipe organ adorned one of the massive walls.

Smaller altars graced other walls. Though Soma did not completely understand all of the symbolism in this great room, he recognized a statue of the Virgin Mary at one of the side altars.

Patterned stone tiles led through the rows of pews and up a few steps to an altar in the front. A row of candles sat on the table, and in their center, a familiar symbol easily stole the focus of the room. A brilliantly gleaming cross levitated of its own volition, as if daring someone to claim it.

Without hesitation, Leon made his way down the center aisle, his gaze focused on the floating crucifix ahead.

"Hey, Leon, you'd better watch out," Soma said, feeling odd that he was advising the older and much more knowledgeable man. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Of course it does," Leon replied, not slowing down his pace at all. "You have part of a vampire's soul in you. If you listen to it, you'll hear it screaming like those two."

At that comment, Soma cast a somewhat concerned look at the other vampires, who were writhing on the ground now in pain. Alucard seemed only slightly better off. The half-vampire clutched his chest, stepping forward determinedly on shaky feet.

Finally, Leon stood before the center altar. "It's been a long time…" Reaching forward, he touched the floating cross.

A blindingly bright light filled the room. When it disappeared, Leon had turned around, the cross stowed magically away. The vampires also found that the source of their immense pain had disappeared, replaced instead with a residual headache.

"How are we…" Alucard began to ask, as he walked forward on firmer feet.

"…not in pain?" Leon finished, a small sad smile on his face. "Because I can't stand to see you three like that… so I willed away the holy charm."

"You can do that?" Soma asked jealously.

"Not that I'm complaining, but he _shouldn't_ be able to," Dracula said darkly, picking himself up from the ground carefully. "... unless he controls this room."

Finally, realization dawned on them.

"I see you've figured it out," Politely, Leon bowed to them. "Welcome to the room of my seal. I am your first angelic foe."

As if on cue, the pipe organ somehow began to play dramatically, an invisible choir singing along to an enchanted melody.

"Leon, we don't have to fight," Alucard said diplomatically. "We have stood on the side of good together for centuries."

"We have," Leon agreed. "But that does not change the fact that my soul is tied to Castlevania. How do you think I always know when the castle is back?"

At this comment, Dracula glanced at him sharply. "No… no! All this time, I thought the Belmonts just had fantastic luck!"

Isaac arched an eyebrow at him.

Dramatically, the lord of the night whipped around, his cape flaring artistically behind him as he pointed to the Belmont before them. "Leon! This whole time _you_ have been telling them?"

Soma spun around, "Really, Drac, I've been alive the least, and even _I_ figured that out."

Dracula shrugged off the insult, fixing his glare on Leon. "For a thousand years, you have sent your _descendants_ to kill me," after this comment, oddly, he smirked. "But never have I had the chance to fight _you_."

Leon nodded. "Though I truly have no wish to fight any of you, this may settle things once and for all between us, Mathias."

"It's Dracula," the lord of the night, despite Leon's continued forgetfulness, grinned. Theatrically, he waved his arm in a sweeping motion to the others. "All of you, stay out of this one. This fight is mine."

"Ok," Joachim agreed immediately, taking a seat in one of the back pews to watch.

"Drac, are you sure…?" Soma asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I am sure!" Dracula growled.

Sensing the force of his conviction, both Soma and Isaac stepped to the back of the room. The red-haired devil forger added, "Straight-up. Lemme know if you need backup."

"Why would I, the lord of the night, need backup?" Dracula questioned, fully confident in his abilities, despite the knowledge that he had yet to defeat a Belmont. Ever.

Only Alucard continued to stand by his side. "Father, I strongly advise against this. You know how these former-ally boss fights go."

"All I know is that it is time to resolve the conflict that has raged for a millennia," the lord of darkness asserted, narrowing his eyes at the blonde haired Belmont that had forever been the bane of his existence. "Adrian, I appreciate your concern, but I will not change my mind."

Lingering only a moment more, Alucard finally nodded and walked to the back of the room with the others. "As you wish."

The moment was tense. For the first time, Dracula, the lord of the night and ruler of Castlevania, faced the man who had brought him nothing but misery. Granted, that was after he sold his betrothed to an evil vampire and doomed Leon and his descendants to a fate of fighting evil for eternity.

Details.

Dracula had known since they fought together long ago in the crusades that this day would come.

Likewise, Leon had also known that this duel was inevitable. Mathias had always had a complex about being a tactician instead of a knight, even a thousand years ago, before either of them had any supernatural abilities. Since that fateful day, Leon knew that one day he would find Mathias and finally have a chance to tell him his mind.

And, oh, he would tell him. He would tell him right now.

Leon took a deep breath, fixing his former ally with a serious glare and pointing a finger at him. "Mathias…"

"Dracula," the other sighed in annoyance.

The Belmont ignored him and continued with vehemence. "…you are a _very bad man!_"

Dracula blinked. "Is that all?"

"_Yeah, is that __**really**__ all you've got to say to him, Leon?_" Sara fumed vengefully from within the Vampire Killer. "_Or should I call you Pussy McCocksucker? GOD __**damn **__it Leon, you're such a fucking moron!_"

As always, Leon remained blissfully unaware of his beloved Sara's words.

"Yes, that is all," Leon said, pulling his Vampire Killer whip taut, a gleam in his eye as he took a defensive stance. "Are you ready to fight?"

"I've been ready for a thousand years," Dracula declared, grasping the edge of his cape and pulling it towards his body.

"But if you were ready a thousand years ago, then why did you send Death to fight in your stead?" Leon inquired.

"Because it seemed really cool at the time," Dracula admitted. "Unfortunately, Death has asked to go on a holiday, and he isn't here right now."

"Oh, really? Where did he go?" the Belmont asked with genuine interest.

"The Bahamas," the lord of darkness replied nonchalantly.

"Good choice," Leon smiled, then resumed his stance. "Well, shall we?"

"Yes," Dracula held his cape menacingly. "Whenever you're ready."

"Please, I couldn't have the honor of making the first move," the Belmont said courteously.

Joachim sighed from the sidelines. "Would you _please_ just start fighting?"

Needing no further prompting, Dracula opened his cape, sending three hellfires Leon's way.

Leon grinned, whipping the flames away. "I'm ready when you are."

"That was just a test," the lord of darkness chuckled, then opened his cape, slowly sending out a molten dark inferno ball. Then, a few seconds later, he sent out another dark inferno ball, slightly higher than the first. A few seconds later, he sent out another dark inferno ball, a little lower than the second.

Leon jumped over the first, ducked under the second, and jumped over the third.

"That was also just a test," Dracula snorted, then clasped his velvety cape, a red glint in his eye. With flourish, he opened his garment, sending out _five_ hellfires.

Leon sighed, double jumped over the fireballs and Dracula, then whipped him repeatedly in the head.

"Augh!" the lord of darkness growled, then laughed as if suddenly remembering something. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've had my abilities. I'd almost forgotten."

With a lingering demonic laugh, he disappeared, reappearing across the room. Knowing that his next attack would certainly get the best of the Belmont, he called forth hell pyres around the room and opened his cape, sending hellfire blasts Leon's way.

Unfortunately for Dracula, Leon was already behind him. Hitting him in the head. Again.

"Grrr!" The lord of the night roared. "This isn't over yet!"

Leon took a defensive stance when he caught the red glint in his former ally's eyes. He was about to do something big.

Dracula clasped his hands together with a roar. "Demonic Megadome!"

Alucard sighed from the back, deciding that he would have to help his father rename his attacks sometime soon.

Immediately, the room filled with a dark energy in the shape of a dome. Leon gasped, double jumping out of harm's way quickly. Then, once the evil energy disappeared, he promptly ran forward and whipped Dracula in the face.

"Urrgh!" Dracula, beginning to feel the sting of Leon's whip more than before, grunted. "Leon, I won't let you best me!"

The Belmont bowed courteously. "Please, I implore you to show me."

Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work for the vampire lord. Even after changing forms twice, Leon managed to whip him into submission, prompting screams of agony. The others could only watch. And cringe.

Finally, Dracula changed back into his vampire form, kneeling on the ground. "Leon… no… this can't be happening!

"Sure it can," Leon walked up to the lord of the night with a piteous look in his eyes. "Admit it, I've won."

"I'll… I'll never admit defeat!" Dracula choked the words out, despite knowing that he was on the verge of death. Again.

Concerned, Alucard rose to his feet, but Isaac held his beefy arm out, blocking the half-vampire's way. "Don't. This is his fight."

"But he's going to die!" Soma exclaimed.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Joachim murmured, checking a picture he had recently taken of himself in his digital camera. Adjusting his hair with the tips of his fingers, he said lazily, "Dracula's a vampire. He won't stay dead long."

Despite knowing that Joachim was right, Alucard still felt torn. He caught Leon's gaze as the Belmont watched them patiently, waiting to see if they would interfere.

Alucard couldn't watch. Looking away, he sat back down.

"I see our comrades are upholding their honor," Leon said, reaching for his carrying pouch. "And now, I shall as well."

"Make it quick," Dracula grunted, keeping his gaze on the cold floor below him.

"Uhh… ok," Leon said, opting to throw the glass super potion on top of his former companion instead of uncorking and pouring it.

As the glass shattered around him, Dracula felt the unexpected restorative properties of the liquid healing his body back to full capacity. Startled and confused, he stood and gave Leon a strange look. "Why… did you do that? Did you lose some of your mental abilities over the last thousand years?"

Leon shook his head. "It would be unfair for me to fight everyone with you injured," he explained.

Alucard looked back up, shocked as well by Leon's honorable actions. "You wish for all of us to fight you together?"

With a slow nod, Leon affirmed his suspicions. "Yes," holding his hand forward, he beaconed them all forward.

Seeing the ass-kicking that he just served to Dracula, the others gathered hesitantly around their newly revived companion.

Leon continued to stand there like a perfect gentleman, waiting patiently for the group to gather their bearings and ready their weapons. When it looked like they had prepared sufficiently, he asked, "Are you all ready?"

At this, Soma hesitated, "Yeah, but… this just seems _wrong_. You're Leon-Fucking-Belmont! Shouldn't you be the one charging into Castlevania and taking out all the baddies?"

Leon cast his gaze downward, almost shamefully, when he heard this comment. It took a moment, but he murmured, "like it or not, I am bound to this castle. I knew what I was getting into when I accepted this form. Supernatural abilities, eternal youth… all in exchange for the responsibility of guarding the rest of the world from this castle and the terrors within it."

"And you've done a fine job of that, Leon," Alucard agreed, trying once more to reason with the Belmont, though he knew that his efforts may be in vain. "There is no need for us to battle."

"Didn't you yourself say that we needed to defeat the angelic beings?" Leon, for once in his life, challenged the half-vampire, causing him to gasp lightly in surprise. "As a creature tied to this castle, I am also bound by the rules of Castlevania."

"By the book to a fault, as always," Joachim tisked.

"I'm afraid so," Leon smiled sadly.

"Try not to kill me again this time, ok?" the purple haired vampire sighed, preparing his swords by his side. "It does horrors to my hair."

"I'll try," Leon grinned at his friend, again brandishing the Vampire Killer. "But, we must fight now. If you are all ready, we can begin."

The other five looked at each other non-committaly. Nobody really wanted for this fight to happen, and Leon was far too polite to make the first move.

After five minutes of staring at each other, Dracula finally sighed, "Shall I take him on by myself again? We all know how well that worked out last time."

Taking Dracula's words as a cue to begin, they all rushed forward at the same time.

The result was akin to a poorly choreographed dance.

As Dracula hung back, sending hellfire blasts again at his opponent, Joachim also sent his blades forward, both interfering with each other's attacks. Isaac had the misfortune of being caught in the line of fire, since he was the only one actually man enough to attack Leon fist to whip.

The red-haired devil-forger batted away the hellfire blasts and swords with a few waves of his meaty fist. "Hey, watch it."

Despite Isaac's recent warning, Soma's electricity scorched both the manly man and Leon. Isaac scowled, patting out a fire that the lightning had started in his hair. Leon seemed to brush it off effortlessly.

Alucard watched the disaster with a pained expression.

"Might I suggest that you coordinate your attacks next time?" the Belmont provided helpfully.

"Thanks, Leon, we figured that out," Dracula scowled, though he made no apparent effort to collaborate with the others.

Alucard, however, did. Carefully timing between his father's hellfire, Soma's lightning, and Joachim's long distance sword strikes, he dodged through the attacks and disappeared from where he stood, reappearing at Leon's backside. Again, timing his strikes to be at the same time as Isaac's blows, they kept Leon pinned where he stood, juggling the attacks between them.

The attack went on for a good two minutes, with everyone firing their heavy artillery and Leon completely unable to get out of it. With all the damage they had inflicted, Soma could have sworn that Leon should have been out for the count long ago. However, the blonde haired Belmont continued to take and deflect hit after hit until he finally managed to roll out of the center.

"How are you _still alive?_" Soma asked incredulously, gripping back the lightning he had almost sent forward in his fist. "I don't care if you're Leon-Fucking-Belmont, you're not immortal!"

"Actually, I am," Leon provided helpfully. "But that is not the reason I am still alive. I can be defeated, you know."

Alucard glared at Soma shrewdly. "Did you not hear what I said earlier about former-ally boss fights?"

"You know I don't listen to most of what you say," Soma responded, perhaps the most honestly he ever had in his life.

"_Former-ally bosses_…" the half-vampire began, disregarding the fact that the white haired youth would probably ignore him again. "…are extremely powerful."

"What? Even Leon?" Soma asked, eyeing Leon skeptically.

Leon frowned at the remark but respectfully chose not to interrupt Alucard.

"Yes, even Leon," Alucard answered, assessing the Belmont before them. After squinting for a moment, he pulled out a pair of very dorky looking glasses from the folds of his suit jacket and placed them on the bridge of his nose. Alucard looked very, _very_ nerdy.

Isaac couldn't watch.

"His attacks will be more powerful, he has 250X the amount of hit points than he had before, and if I'm not mistaken…" Alucard's eyes narrowed again, despite the glasses. "…he has another form."

"Another…" Dracula began, but his voice trailed off as he caught Leon's smirk. "…you couldn't possibly…"

"Couldn't I?" Leon asked, shaking his head. "It seems that you are all quite formidable when fighting together. Good job, guys, I knew you could do it!"

"Why are you encouraging us?" Soma asked skeptically.

"That's just what he does," Joachim sighed.

"Indeed," Leon agreed. "It is. But unfortunately, I will have to stop going easy on you now."

"Going… easy…?" Soma managed to murmur, but his voice left him at the sight that happened next.

With a roar, a pair of brilliant white wings burst from Leon's back.

"Oh _fuck…_" Soma murmured.

The others couldn't agree more.

* * *

**Thank you, reviewers! Your reviews make my day a happy day! =)**

Congrats to:** Wild Fantasy, Willowfur, and SunLord89** for correctly answering the last trivia!

If you haven't checked out my profile yet, check it out! Wild Fantasy drew an amazing pic of Bunnicula Soma recently. The link is on my profile page. Leave some love for that awesome pic! ^_^

Don't you worry, there will still be another boss after Leon, so don't think I'm cheating you out of one. Can you believe that this story is coming close to its conclusion? 2 (maybe 3) chapters left... that's all!

Chapter Trivia #10 Answer:  
_Soma attacks the group with hundreds of large fiery meteors in this chapter. Dracula has this attack too, but he doesn't use quite this many. How many flaming dark infernos does Dracula typically throw at his foes?_

In most Castlevania games, Dracula will open his cape and send forth _two_ dark inferno meteors. However, in both Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, and in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, he fires five, and in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair he can fire four to _six_ flaming balls. (Cue immature giggle.)

Chapter Trivia #11:

In this chapter, Alucard cautions the group about the dangers of former-ally bosses. How would he know about this? Review with your answer!


	12. Finish What You Start

As Leon Belmont pumped his wings, easily lifting himself into the air above them, Soma's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Oh, _hell no!_"

"Leon, you have _wings?_" Dracula cried in outrage.

Soma turned to the lord of the night as if he were stupid. "What does it look like?"

"Why didn't you use them when you fought against _me?_" The vampire lord demanded.

"_Please_," Leon spread his hands out to his side with a small shrug. "I've been teaching my descendants how to fight against you for centuries. It's kind of what I do. I knew I wouldn't need them."

Meanwhile, Joachim stood up and folded his arms, gazing shrewdly at his old friend. "Leon, since when do you _fly_?"

"Since my angelic transformation a thousand years ago, I've had the ability," Leon answered, simultaneously pulling forth the Vampire Killer in preparation.

"Wouldn't that have been useful before, like… oh… when you _fell in the pit_ earlier? Or when you fought against Soma? Oh, what about the time you paid $1500 to fly to France?" the vampire pressed skeptically.

"Yes, it would have," the Belmont admitted, then hardened his gaze. "Now, are you all ready for round two?"

Isaac grinned, "Looks like it's time to pull out the big guns."

"Amen!" Soma, infused by the power of the church they were standing in, pulled out a RPG and fired it straight into Leon's chest.

The angel was thrown backwards in an explosion of dark smoke. He recovered just in time to see a pew hurled into his face, sending him back into the stone wall with a heavy thud, the wood cracking and splintering around him, raining down on the ground below.

Dazed from the blows, Leon fell to the ground with the remains of the pew, rising to his knees just in time to see Isaac pick up another pew, spin it around in a circle twice (almost hitting Alucard in the process), and hurl it his way. The Belmont's eyes widened and he quickly rolled out of the way.

Below him, the ground began to quake with heat and take on familiar circular patterns. Recalling this attack just in time, Leon double jumped in the air. Though he managed to avoid the worst of it, the tips of gold-rimmed stone blades caught his leg, drawing blood.

"Such a waste of perfectly good blood," Joachim sighed wistfully, lowering his hand and commanding the golden blades to fall back into the ground.

Leon wasn't about to be set back by this, in fact, he gave his old friend a grin. "Impressive, but next time the blood spilt will be yours."

Incensed by the comment, Joachim called forth a sphere of light in his hands. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Alucard, sensing the vampire's intentions, caught his eye. With a nod, the half-vampire flew forward, the blade of his sword colliding with Leon's whip. For several seconds, they matched each other swing for swing in a blur of movement.

Steadily, however, Alucard pushed Leon back further until he finally stood within range. Without warning, Joachim tossed the sphere behind Leon, commanding it to spew fire in devastating waves.

Alucard's tux jacket brushed the edge of it, catching fire despite his quick reflexes. Once he was out of harm's way, the dhampire pat the flames out and shot an angry glare at Joachim. "A little warning may have been nice."

"Yeah," Joachim agreed.

Meanwhile, Leon had taken flight higher above the others. "Wow, you're all doing really great!"

"Yeah, you're _so fucking good _at encouraging us!" Somehow, Soma felt like he was patronizing them. With a growl, he fired another RPG at the Belmont. "Do your worst!"

"As you wish," Leon quickly swooped down, dodging the rocket propelled grenade. "It seems like it's time for me to bring out _my _'big guns' too."

Immediately, the air began to feel heavier. Dracula, having felt this very attack many times in the past, knew what was coming. A panicked look crossed his face as he noticed Alucard standing defensively yet completely unaware of what was to come. "Adrian!"

Desperately, he began running towards his son. "NOOOOO—!"

Alucard gave his father a quizzical look.

Dracula continued running, extending his hand forward. "—OOOOOOOO—!"

Alucard's expression slipped into one of mild annoyance.

Still, Dracula continued to dash to his son's aid. "—OOOOOOO!"

Alucard openly frowned at his father's antics.

Realizing that he may not have time to reach his son just by running, Dracula teleported next to him. "Leon is going to use a holy rain attack!" Desperately he threw his cape over his son.

Dracula's cape landed on top of Alucard's shield.

Alucard sighed, pulling his father underneath the Alucard shield.

Simultaneously, Leon shouted "Hydro Storm!"

A gentle holy water rain hit the top of the half-vampire's shield, which protected both himself and his father from harm.

Somewhere to their side, Joachim yelped and dove underneath a pew. Soma scowled at the water in annoyance. Isaac stood stoically unaffected.

"Father, what was that about?" Alucard sighed, stowing away his shield once the rain had stopped. "You're embarrassing me."

"You knew?" Dracula asked.

"The humidity in the air increased with the onset of the rainstorm," the dhampire explained scientifically. "It was only logical that Leon would infuse the water with a holy quality."

"Oh," the lord of the night said a little sheepishly, finding it a little difficult to meet Alucard's eye. "Sorry for embarrassing you."

"It's… ok," Alucard said tentatively, awkwardly shifting where he stood. "You didn't know."

"He was concerned," Leon explained gently, beaming from where he flew above them. "Oh, Mathias, I'm so happy that you've reconnected with your son!"

"It's Dracula," the lord of the night rolled his eyes. "And aren't you supposed to be fighting us?"

"Oh, quite right," Leon agreed, pulling out a bunch of knives from somewhere not described. "Blade Serpent!"

The knives naturally took the shape of a serpent, which roamed the room, nipping at them all playfully. Twice, the razor sharp scales of the serpent grazed Soma before it moved on to terrorize the others. Joachim lamented as his shirt continued to be horribly maimed and bloodied each time the wicked creature pierced him.

Alucard and Dracula attempted to fight the creature back to back, but Dracula's flames were no match for the metal. The half-vampire grunted, only barely able to keep the creature at bay.

"How are we gonna kill this thing?" Soma wailed from across the room.

"Easy." Isaac sledge-hammer tossed a pew at the serpent, breaking it into hundreds of tiny knives, which fell uselessly to the floor.

No sooner had the dangerous knife creature vanished, than they heard Leon's voice call forth the next monstrosity. "Axe Tornado!" the Belmont shouted.

"Oh _shit_," Soma snarled as tornadoes molded from axes materialized around the room.

Experts by now, the group began to double-jump out of harm's way. That is, until the terrible suction force of the cyclones began to take effect.

"Uaaaagh!" Alucard and Dracula both shouted as the nearest tornado caught them both into its devastation. While Dracula managed to teleport out of the whirlwind before he was too badly battered, Alucard had no such luck. Curling into a ball, he held the Alucard shield at his back, wincing as each blade cracked into the metal, and waited until the tornado flung him across the room and into the pipe organ.

The organ ceased playing its dramatic theatrical music and instead blared a dissonant chord, filling the room with an ominous sound.

The others experienced similarly painful trips, finding themselves badly cut and tossed into the relentless stone walls more than once. Just as it began to appear hopeless, the axe tornadoes faded away.

As if to mock them, Leon's voice filled the room with yet another magical command. "Judgement!" Leon cried, before holy fires appeared from the ceiling, raining down on them all.

Alucard hid behind his Alucard shield, Joachim underneath a pew, Dracula behind the Virgin Mary statue, and Isaac behind his fists. Soma peered out from behind his final guard soul shield and glared crossly up at Leon. "Why are you shouting out the names of all your attacks?"

"I wanted to give you fair warning," Leon explained, looking down sadly as the fires continued to rage on. "I can stop if you think it's too cheap…"

"No no, do carry on. It's much more entertaining this way," Joachim encouraged him from underneath a pew, noting with distaste the amount of dust this particular attack was kicking up. Thankfully, as a vampire, he didn't need to worry about little details like breathing.

Unfortunately, he did have to worry about being set on fire. Hidden underneath the pew, Joachim didn't see the devastating Judgment fire coming until it was too late.

Soma noted that lighting a vampire on holy fire was similar to catching a marshmallow on fire. It was at this point that he realized Leon was seriously trying to kill them, though he heard the Belmont's apology of "I'm terribly sorry, Joachim."

"UUAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHH! LEON!" Despite Joachim's struggles and enraged cries of dismay, the blessed flames consumed him until with one last agonizing scream he burst into a flurry of purple dust in front of Soma.

"Ugh, that's three times now. He's going to be _so_ angry with me," Leon lamented through the falling boulders of christened flames.

Soma sneezed.

Leon stopped his spell immediately, the holy fires ceasing to fall, and politely said, "Bless you."

Soma blinked, a little confused as he brought down his final guard shield. There was _something_ he was supposed to say back…

Then, Leon lifted his hands again, this time pulling forth the holy crucifix that he had stowed away earlier. Its mere presence caused Dracula and Alucard to wince, but they did not seem nearly as affected as earlier. "Grand Cro—"

"Thank you," the pale haired youth said, a little disappointed that all of Alucard's harping on him over his manners had started to sink in.

The Belmont paused again. "You're welcome."

Alucard, who had previously been debating how they could possibly take down the angel, watched the interchange with steadily widening eyes. "That's it…"

"What's it?" Dracula asked, peeking out from behind the Virgin Mary statue.

"That's how we'll take him down." Confidently, Alucard began to stride towards Leon. "Everyone, follow me, and do as I do!"

Not waiting to see what the half-vampire had in store for him, the Belmont lifted his hands in the air again, calling a holy energy towards him once more. "Grand Cro—"

With great determination, Alucard marched forward and sneezed.

Again, Leon paused mid-prayer. "Bless you."

Taking the opportunity, he double jumped up to Leon's height and grasped his legs, bringing the angel to the ground. Leon back-handed Alucard with the cross, knocking the half-vampire away.

Holding the cross aloft, he determinedly spoke, "Grand Cro—"

"Thank you," Alucard uttered, bowing gracefully.

"You're welcome," Leon nodded politely, holding down his cross for just a moment.

The moment was long enough for Dracula to leap forward, singeing the Belmont with a flurry of hell fires. Sharply, he turned to his son, "I have to sneeze?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes," Alucard affirmed. "Leon will respond out of politeness, breaking his concentration and interfering with his spells."

"But I don't even breathe! How can I sneeze?" Dracula wailed.

"Like this." Isaac said, then inhaled deeply. "A-choo."

The force of Isaac's sneeze blew them all into the cold stone wall. A dazed looking Leon managed to peel himself off the wall and utter, "Bless you."

Resolutely, the angel pulled forth his cross again, muttering this time, "Grand Cro—"

"Thank you," Isaac said, calmly flying scissor heel hooking him to the ground.

"You're… welcome…" the Belmont grunted between strangled breaths as he attempted to get out of Isaac's perfect submission lock. "Grand… Cro—"

Dracula forced himself to breathe in and sneeze the air outward. "Achoo!"

"Bless… you…" Leon said, struggling to summon forth the holy energy to begin casting his spell again.

As the angel labored to pull forth the cross again, Dracula kicked it distastefully out of his hands. "Thank you," Dracula stated.

"You're… welcome…" When he reached for his whip, Soma pulled the weapon out of reach. "Sara…"

"_Oh, don't call for me this time, Leon, this is __**your**__ mess and __**you're**__ gonna __**fucking clean it up!**_" Sara screeched from within the whip.

As usual, Leon could not hear his darling's words. When he reached for the whip, he was faced with the point of Alucard's sword.

"Give up, Leon," the half-vampire advised. "You have lost."

Realizing that Isaac did indeed have in him locked into submission, and that all of his weapons were out of reach, Leon finally caved in. "As you wish, I admit my defeat."

Bowing his head down, the Belmont's forehead touched the chilled floor. "Isaac, you don't have to trouble yourself with pinning me down. I promise that I won't struggle anymore."

Knowing that Leon's word was as good as a U.F.C. title match, the red-haired devil forger released his grip on the Belmont.

Though he sat up, Leon continued to bow his head in defeat. "You have won. I will resist no longer…"

Soma punched Leon in the face. "That's for the fucking axe tornados."

Seeing the lamenting man before him, Alucard sighed, putting away his blade. "Now that this has been settled, will you cease your foolishness and join us once again?"

A small bitter laugh escaped Leon's lips. "I can't… now that I am here, I am bound to my seal."

"Where is you seal?" Alucard persisted, looking around the room for any suspicious objects.

Leon pointed toward a wall on the far side of the room which housed an altar full of candles. "Walk through that wall."

Soma would have argued about the practicality of walking through a wall, but he had seen crazier things that very day. Pushing aside the candles, he followed the others through the stone wall.

Just beyond the illusory stones was a small room that contained little more than a wooden pedestal. Atop the pedestal sat a smooth flat stone with a familiar angelic engraving, carved in light blue and pulsing with holy goodness.

Tentatively, Dracula picked up the seal, sensing the connection that it had with the Belmont that had caused him so much misery.

"What should we do with it?" Soma asked dubiously.

"That's simple," the lord of the night stated, sweeping past them all as he walked through the wall and back before the defeated man. "Belmont…"

"Yes," Leon smiled grimly, seeing that his former companion held the very stone that could release him from his fate. "All you need to do is break that symbol, and I will cease to exist. You will likely never be troubled again by a Belmont."

"I find that highly unlikely," Dracula said with a grin. "Especially since I plan to build this into Castlevania again once I remodel."

"Mathias… why would you do that?" Leon asked, his clear blue eyes opening wide in bewilderment.

"Because… you were my best friend when my name was still Mathias." For once, Dracula ignored his mistake and instead offered Leon his hand. "Leon Belmont, join us. Together we will defeat the last angelic being and remodel Castlevania."

"Gladly, friend." Taking Dracula's hand, Leon stood up confidently again. "Besides, you have my seal, so I can't exactly say 'no' to you."

"Oh really? How convenient," Dracula mused, earning him a sour look from Leon. "Don't forget your whip, but if you would… leave that cross behind," the lord of the night scowled at the glowing crucifix. "It gives me a most horrible headache."

"Does this help?" The Belmont asked as he picked up both objects, placing the whip back at his hip and magically stowing away the cross again.

Dracula blinked, feeling the unpleasant burning in the back of his head vanish. "Actually, it does. What did you do?"

"I removed the holy charm," Leon explained sheepishly. "Sorry, I had to keep that on when we were fighting."

"That is no longer a problem, but _this_ is," Alucard said, indicating towards the pile of purple dust that once was Joachim. "Are we planning to remedy this… situation?"

"Yes! Oh, goodness…" Realizing that he had forgotten about his old friend, Leon's eyes again widened as he dashed to the pile. "Joachim, I know you can hear me right now. I am sorry that I could not avoid this. You seem to have scattered all over the room, but I'll bring you back."

The group appeared a little leery as Leon summoned his axe tornadoes once again, causing Soma to raise his fist, but this time the tornadoes carefully avoided them as they pulled all of Joachim's ashes into one pile.

Leon's wings drew closer to him as he knelt next to the dust, pulling forth a gleaming golden apple from his travel bag. He began murmuring quietly in a language that Soma did not recognize but suspected might be Spanish.

It wasn't.

The angel's wings flared behind him magnificently as a brilliant white light filled the room. The Belmont pressed the golden life apple into the dust, and moments later the light faded away. In its place, Joachim laid renewed back to non-life along with his clothing. Everything was back to normal aside from one small detail.

"Leon! That's the _**third**_ _**time**_!" Joachim shrieked, slapping the Belmont across the face as he gasped and sat up angrily. "And why is there _snot_ in my hair?"

Soma looked away discreetly.

Discovering an even more important fact, the vampire's yelp of horror filled the room and echoed through the castle. "_My hair!_ _Leon, you_ _**burned away my coloring**__!_" He agonized, grasping and pulling the slightly snot-filled pale silver strands.

"It was… washing out anyway?" Leon attempted weakly, knowing that sometimes this was enough to convince his delusional friend.

It was.

"Quite right, I'll show that brand a lesson. Next time I'm buying L'oreal," Joachim huffed confidently.

"Congratulations," Alucard said dryly, catching their attention. "Now if you don't mind, I would rather not stay in this room all day. I have never felt at ease in churches."

"Indeed," Dracula agreed, gazing at Leon's seal stone briefly before stowing it away. Looking up at the hanging crucifix, he scowled. "Leon, next time we're building your seal into a cemetery."

"I dislike cemeteries," Leon commented, looking distantly aside.

"Stop being a bitch and let's go," Joachim rolled his eyes and lead the way out.

Soma scowled jealously at Leon's magnificently sexy angel wings as they flapped into his head yet again outside the room of his seal. "Leon-Fucking-Belmont, I swear if you do that again…"

Leon looked apologetically over at Soma, "Oh, I'm sorry, I hadn't realized they were still out." The angel's face contorted momentarily, and as quickly as they appeared, his wings vanished away.

Dracula blinked, "You can do that?"

"Yeah," the Belmont affirmed.

Soma folded his arms angrily and looked away.

It wasn't long before the group reached the final door, though even Alucard appeared perplexed.

"It… should not look like this," the half-vampire said as he cautiously touched a gloved fingertip to the dark ebony door. Despite the angelic engravings, the massive door that loomed before them was saturated with a dark color, the holy markings pulsing a blood-red color not unlike that which adorned the demonic seals.

"Is it the wrong door?" Leon asked.

"No," Alucard said, completely confident in himself. "This gateway appears to have the angelic seal, but for some reason, it also has the attributes of the demonic seals. We would do well to be even more cautious with this foe than our others."

"Ok," Soma agreed, placing his hands on the door in an attempt to open it. When it refused to open for him, he frowned.

"You are no longer master of this castle, don't you remember?" Dracula smirked cruelly, then stepped forward, touching his hand to the door.

Again, the gateway refused to open.

"How can this be? I am the lord of the night and the ruler of this castle! I command that this door open to me!" His roars fell upon deaf ears.

"I wonder why it isn't responding…" Leon murmured, furrowing his eyebrows and touching a hand to his chin in thought.

"_God __**DAMN**__ it Leon! If you don't fucking man up and __**open this door**__ I SWEAR I'll haunt your pussy-ass as long as you live!_" Sara shrieked from with the whip.

Suddenly, Leon looked up, a strange feeling overcoming him. "Maybe…" He shook his head. "No, it isn't possible."

"No," Joachim agreed. "You couldn't possibly be that cool."

"I admit to knowing little about the angelic being behind this door," Alucard said, turning back to face the Belmont. "Leon, if you have an idea, let's hear it."

"I don't really have an _idea_… it's more of a feeling," Leon continued to murmur as he slowly walked up to the door. "Maybe _I_ can open it?"

Hesitantly, he brought his hand up to the ebony stone and touched his fingertips to the cold surface. Immediately, the door radiated with a dark energy. Slowly, ominously, it slid open.

Soma stared incredulously at Leon. "I swear, if you even fucking _think_ about fighting us again…"

Leon shook his head. "No, this is not my seal."

While the group stared uncertainly at each other, Isaac revved up his motorcycle. "You can wait out here if you want. I'll let you know when the boss is dead." With that, he blared into the dark room ahead.

"Yeah, what he said." Encouraged by Isaac's actions (and slightly envious that it wasn't him) Soma strode confidently into the room. Dracula and Alucard wasted no time entering, and after a moment's hesitation, even Joachim walked through.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is a terrible idea?" Leon whispered to himself at this point. Despite the chilling feeling gripping his very bones, he slowly strode through the door.

Once again, Leon found himself surrounded by pure darkness. An evil chuckle beside him caught his attention immediately. He knew that voice.

"_At last…"_ the voice laughed tauntingly again as a familiar figure appeared through the darkness.

Leon's eyes widened. "No… it cannot be!"

"_Leon Belmont, tonight I will __**kill**__ you."

* * *

_

Who is that last angelic boss, I wonder? Any guesses? ^_^

**Many thanks to my reviewers! ** Though I wouldn't stop writing for you anyway, you make me feel like this is all worthwhile. =)

Congrats to **Wild Fantasy**, **SunLord 89**, and **Willowfur** for correctly answering the trivia!

Chapter Trivia #11 Answer:

_In this chapter, Alucard cautions the group about the dangers of former-ally bosses. How would he know about this?_

Alucard has had experience fighting against former allies on a couple of occasions. If you get the "bad" ending of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, he fights Soma. Technically, you could also count his battles with Trevor, Syfa, Grant, Richter, Maria, and Dracula from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as former allies as well.

Chapter Trivia #12:

Leon uses several different magical attacks in this chapter; however, one of them is not actually in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Which of Leon's attacks is new to him? Review with your answer! =)


	13. Keep Your Friends Close, Enemies Closer

Leon couldn't believe it. For a thousand years, he had believed her to be dead, and yet, here she stood before him exactly as she had been that fateful day. He had never forgotten the day he had been forced to kill her, condemning her tainted soul to infinite lifetimes within the Vampire Killer whip that his family had used to fight evil for generations.

Sara Trantoul.

His beloved, darling Sara was standing before him now…saying she was going to kill him.

Oh, right, she _had_ said that, hadn't she? Leon remembered this tidbit of information just before feeling a powerful fist collide with his face, landing him on his butt.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but it dulled in comparison to the happiness that ran through him. "Sara… you're alive!" Leon said with a wide smile, standing up and running to her. "Oh, I'm so happy!"

The woman's lips twisted into a snarl, her eyes full of disbelief as the Belmont caught her in a tight embrace. "_Why?_ I plan to kill you, Leon. Violently. I will maul you… _I will end you!_"

"I've missed you so much," he murmured, a small tear falling from his eye.

Sara noticed. "**God** **damn** **it** Leon! Why are you such a _fucking pussy_?" Waving her arms in a circular motion, she knocked him away from her.

"You shouldn't say the Lord's name in vain," At this, Leon finally frowned slightly. Sara had always been such a pious girl. Though they had a few differences, in their love of God they had always seen eye-to-eye. "Sara, this doesn't sound like you…"

"Oh, I assure you, it's me, _Leon-poo_," she said, her words dripping with a venomous sarcasm.

Soma snickered at the pet-name, alerting Leon to the fact that the others had all stopped to calmly watch their interchange. "Leon-poo?"

"Quiet!" Joachim demanded in a hushed whisper, swatting at the silver haired youth. "You'll spoil the drama."

"That name…" The Belmont took a step back in shock. "Sara… you… this really is you."

"It really is me," she agreed with a scowl. "Maybe if your stupid brain had _listened_ over the past 1000 years…"

"What happened to you?" Leon asked sadly, somehow knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer to this.

"What happened to me? _What happened to me?_" Sara shrieked, causing the vampires to cover their ears from the shrill noise. "_**1000 years and he has the audacity to ask what fucking happened to me!**_"

"Yes?" Leon asked honestly.

"_**AAARRRRGHH!**_" She screamed, pulling the strands of her hair from their delicate braided buns so that they hung in what would be beautiful dark curls around her, were she not so clearly deranged. "_**YOU FUCKING FUCKED ANOTHER WOMAN WHEN I WAS IN THE SAME FUCKING ROOM! THAT'S WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED TO ME!**_"

Alucard winced. Isaac shook his head and looked away. Soma silently commended her on her language.

Leon, however, remained perplexed. "I was never unfaithful to you… while you were alive," he clarified.

"_You…_" she continued to seethe, though at a lower volume. "_I was __**alive the whole time!**_"

"You were? But where…" As Leon began to ask, the all too obvious answer hit him when the woman of his affections screamed it at him.

"_Inside the__** WHIP you fucking imbecile!**_" Sara screamed, the rage beginning to manifest itself around her in a heated crimson and black aura. "_You hung me __**on the bedpost**__ when you __**fucked**__ all those other women!_"

Leon realized that he had.

"_WHY WOULD YOU __**DO**__ THAT?_"

"Because it was nighttime," Leon explained matter-of-factly. "Vampires might attack."

Joachim rolled his eyes. "Oh _please_, I have better things to do than attack you while you're _indisposed_, and Dracula's too lazy to get off his throne when he's actually awake."

"I have a lot to think about," Dracula huffed back.

"_**LEEEEOOOONNN!**_" Despite the logic, Sara's rage continued to grow until the dark aura filled the entire room, making it impossible for them to see anything.

"Oh great, this again," Joachim frowned, lamenting the abused battery life of his camera.

A few moments later, Sara's demonic chuckle filled the room, permeating through everything to their ears. "_Leon, you will __**die**__ tonight for what you have done to me…_"

Soma breathed a sigh of relief.

"…_and all your friends too!_"

"Oh, _come on!_" Soma whined. "Is that really necessary?"

"_Yes…_" she answered back in a sultry manner. "_And what's better… I won't even have to lift a finger. Tonight, you'll kill each other!_"

With a gleeful laugh, the rage-aura lifted. Soma's eyes widened as he found himself alone on the circular sandy floor of a gladiatorial amphitheater that resembled the coliseum.

Alone with a coliseum full of monsters.

"Oh _fuck me_…" Soma muttered under his breath, clenching his fists tightly as he pulled at his mana reserves for what would certainly be a life-threatening battle. Never before had he seen so many monsters in one place. Axe armors, minotaurs, creatures, and all varieties of angels and devils filled the giant room.

His companions were nowhere to be seen. "_How could you leave me alone?_" Soma wailed, but his cries were short-lived, for he just barely managed to avoid the devastating sweep of a minotaur's large axe. With a growl, he hardened his gaze and let the lightning flow from his fingertips.

Meanwhile, the others were finding their situations less than appealing. Leon especially felt bared as the electric sting of a nearby Creature hit him. The Belmont reached for his Vampire Killer whip, only to find it missing.

Sara's laugh taunted him. "_Did you really think I would help you out on this one?_"

"Yes," Leon answered, frowning. He reached for his second most powerful weapon, his holy cross, but he paused just as his fingers touched the metal. If he used it, Dracula, Joachim, and Alucard would be at a serious disadvantage, wherever they were. Realizing that he could never do that to his friends, he instead pulled out a handful of knives from an undisclosed place, his gaze focusing on the plethora of monsters that surrounded him. "Blade Serpent!"

Isaac frowned as a bone dragon flew by him, grazing his shoulder with its sharp bone segments. He did not completely understand why this room was suddenly filed with monsters, but he could sense a heavy magical curse laying thickly in the air around them. These creatures were not all they appeared to be.

Frowning at the dragon that had just nipped him, Isaac punched it into several bony fragments, then turned to face his next opponent.

Joachim didn't quite manage to dodge as a werewolf uppercut him, but thankfully, nothing was quite as bad as dying. "_Three times_." He scowled at the thought, and had he known where Leon was right now, he would have given that treacherous angel a piece of his mind.

It didn't really surprise him that the room was full of monsters. They _were_ in Castlevania, after all, weren't they? In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if they were actually fighting each other. For a moment, his judgment wavered as he watched an axe armor throw its blade in a very familiar fashion.

The next moment, he threw his favorite five swords at the axe armor and the bat flying behind it. Leon had it coming.

Alucard winced as a ruler sword's blade, thrown from across the room, managed to graze his arm. He _knew_ that there had to be a reasonable explanation for what was happening. Despite Sara's power, he knew that she would never have the ability to teleport them all to separate rooms in the castle and fill them all with monsters.

It was at that moment that he happened to gaze upward, at a throne that overlooked all of the proceedings. Not unlike an ancient Roman emperor, a grim figure sat atop the monumentous stone chair, watching the proceedings.

Richter Belmont.

Alucard's gaze narrowed. "Ugh, Richter…" the venom in his voice startled even himself. Then again, the Belmont _did_ owe him twenty bucks. Deciding to end things once and for all, he shifted form into a bat and flew towards the throne.

Dracula found it all quite amusing. It was true, some of his monsters were behaving differently than they usually did, but from his seat high above the coliseum floor, nothing bothered him.

Nothing, that is, except a pesky bat, that seemed to have no sense, no brain, or possibly both. It fluttered around him making indecipherable high pitched squeaking sounds. "I can't understand you," he attempted to tell the creature, but to no avail.

Why couldn't he understand it? Dracula mused over this as he calmly procured a carrot from the folds of his cape, drinking the crisply fresh veggie juices.

At this, the bat seemed to _really_ spazz out, its tiny wings fluttering even faster than before and its squeaks even higher pitched. A bit more irritated now than before, Dracula growled, "I told you before, I don't know _what you are saying…_ now go away before I lose my patience."

Unfortunately for him, the bat remained steadfast in its squeakery. Dracula sighed.

Alucard sighed. Richter Belmont was stupider than ever. "_Hello…_" He attempted for the fifth time.

Richter stared dumbly back at him.

"Why… are… you… here?" Alucard asked slowly, knowing that _special_ measures needed to be taken with this _special_ Belmont.

Richter continued to stare at him blankly.

"What… are… you…" Alucard began.

"I can't understand you." Richter blurted back suddenly.

Alucard was certain that he was speaking English. The same English that Richter was speaking. How could he…?

Oh wait. This was _Richter_ Belmont.

The half-vampire took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm. "Richter… it… is… me… Alucard."

Suddenly, Richter did something that he had never done before. He reached into the folds of his long blue overcoat and pulled out… a carrot?

Alucard blinked uncertainly as he watched the man bring the carrot to his mouth… and drink the juice? Since when did…?

The half vampire gasped, wondering why he hadn't seen it before. The man sitting in front of him wasn't Richter Belmont. No, it was someone completely different.

It had to be his father.

More urgently, he stepped forward, attempting to get the man's attention. "Father! It's me, Alucard! Can you understand me now? We must break free of this curse quickly!"

Dracula sighed, growing tired of this bat. He supposed that he could just take its soul and be done with it, but the way it was fluttering around, in a panicked and concerned way, was almost… cute. It was just so nonthreatening.

He would let it live a little while longer. "Little bat, stay by my side for a while and listen. See how they are all slaughtering each other out there? They wouldn't be if _they knew the benefits of __**organic food!**_"

Disgusted with the animalistic nature of the monsters on the floor, he shook his head, pulling out another carrot and tapping its juice. "If only they could appreciate naturally grown food, free from _earth damaging pesticides_ and _hazardous genetic engineering_, they would also appreciate a world where people have _no_ _need to fight_ to be happy!"

Alucard listened to Richter's…no… _his father's_ ranting and decided that he could never be more sure of himself. But, unfortunately, it seemed the older vampire neither recognized nor understood him. At least his father wasn't attacking him, which was more than he could say for the others. Uncertain of what to do, Alucard took a seat next to Dracula and listened to his continued rant about organic food while he pondered the dilemma.

Soma was quickly growing tired of the endless hordes of monsters. Every time it seemed he defeated one, another would simply appear in its place, and oh, these monsters were _crafty_.

It didn't seem fair. Why did _he_ have to deal with all of Castlevania's creatures _again_? This was his _third time_ running through the demonic castle. He seriously doubted that anyone in history had ever endured quite this much agony and torture.

It was work. Too much work.

Eventually, Soma threw his hands in the air, a shower of dark infernos teasing his hair, and shouted, "_Leon-Fucking-Belmont!_ I don't know how you did it, but I know this is all _**your**__ fucking fault!_"

Leon began to expertly double-jump out of harm's way when the skeleton next to him somehow managed to summon a flurry of dark infernos. He didn't know how the skeleton did it, but if it was Mathias's attack, he could definitely dodge it.

Then, the unthinkable happened. The skeleton _talked_. Not only did it talk, it called him by name.

"Leon F-ing Belmont…" Leon repeated carefully. Something about the way this skeleton said his name was familiar. It was almost as if he had heard it before.

Perhaps someone else called him this once?

Leon pondered this with diligence as he continued to double jump away from the skeleton's dark infernos and hellfires. Who did he know that had Mathias's powers? Mathias didn't call him that. Though her vocabulary had largely expanded since he last saw her, it wasn't Sara…

Though the hellfires slightly singed him, he somehow knew that he didn't want to lose sight of this particular skeleton. Isaac didn't say that… Alucard was too polite… Joachim called him a fashionless idiot but only…

Leon's eyes widened as he finally came to the right conclusion. "Soma!"

The skeleton hesitated a moment before throwing its next hellfire. "What?"

The Belmont hastily jumped out of the way. "Soma, is that you? It's me, Leon!"

This only seemed to enrage the skeleton more, as it shouted, "Fucking Leon!" It lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck and tackled him to the ground.

Leon watched as the skeleton slowly morphed from its formerly bony figure into the crude pale haired youth that he had come to know. It seemed Soma was shocked as well, for he quickly let go of him and stood up. However, as soon as he did, the youth reverted back into a startled looking skeleton.

"Holy shit, it really _is_ you!" The skeleton… no… _Soma_ said, startled. He waved his bony arms around in exasperation and demanded, "why do you look like a minotaur?"

"I do?" It was Leon's turn to be perplexed as he glanced down at himself. From what he could tell, he appeared the same as he always did. Resolutely, he shook his head. "It must have something to do with Sara."

"Who is Sara?" Soma asked, folding his bony arms impudently as he dodged a nearby swipe of a Final Guard's sword. "I mean, I heard that you cheated on her, but who was she?"

"Sara Trantoul…" Leon began, his eyes tearing as a lump began to form in his throat. Determinedly, he swallowed and continued. "…was my betrothed. I loved her… but I was forced to kill her and seal her in the Vampire Killer whip for the last thousand years."

"Oh," Skeleton Soma paused, seeming to have no more to say for a moment. Again, he dodged another swing from the final guard behind him. "So now her ghost wants revenge on you? That's kind of a bitchy thing to do, isn't it?"

"I deserve whatever punishment she may deem fitting," Leon consented, his eyes downcast.

"Yeah, you probably do," the skeleton double jumped away from yet another swipe from the final guard, his irritation clearly beginning to grow. "But _we_ don't. Tell your bitch to fucking chill!"

"I don't think she'll listen…" the Belmont murmured mostly to himself.

Soma had already turned around, his gaze murderous as he pelted the final guard with dark infernos. "And I've had _enough_ of your shit!"

The final guard took the blows, screamed, and lumbered away.

Soma blinked after it. "That was… weird."

After having been lightly toasted by the dark infernos of a nearby skeleton, Joachim made his way through the hoards of monsters to a more secluded corner. Only one werewolf continued to bother him, continuously swinging at him as he desperately floated away. "Go away! Can't you see I'm _busy_?"

And he was. Joachim had much more important things to be concerned about than the pointless slaughter going on around him. He had an image to think of.

Drifting quickly away from the werewolf for a few seconds, he pulled out his digital camera and snapped a shot of himself. Knowing that he wouldn't have much time before the werewolf attacked again, he hurriedly looked at the preview screen, sighing with relief.

His hair still looked the same.

Quickly, he stowed his camera away, intending to face the werewolf once more. "All right, beastie. Show me what you've got."

The werewolf began to howl but didn't move. Joachim grinned, calling his swords to his side once again. This was going to be easier than he thought.

Isaac rarely found a reason to be indecisive about anything, but somehow he had found one. He knew the final guard standing before him must be Joachim. No other would ever think of taking a picture of himself during a battle. Of the final guard's identity, he was completely certain, but his indecision stemmed from a larger problem.

It seemed Joachim either couldn't hear him, or didn't want to. "Joachim, stop attacking!" He tried to command him for the third time. Again, the vampire seemed not to hear him and continued his pursuit.

In an instant, Isaac's indecision was over. If Joachim wouldn't understand, he could always knock him out and explain later. Clenching his fists tightly, he tackled the final guard before him, knocking him to the ground and submitting his arm.

Joachim's eyes grew wide as the werewolf sitting atop him, twisting his arm in a most painful way, melted away to be replaced with a rather beefy looking Isaac.

Could his eyes be playing tricks on him? It certainly wouldn't be the first time. Something about the devil forger's overwhelming manliness made him certain he wasn't hallucinating. "Isaac…? You're not Leon," he sighed, ceasing his struggle when he realized it wasn't the Belmont.

At this, Isaac glanced at him sharply. "Joachim, will you quit it if I let you go?"

After a quick nod, the vampire found his arm no longer in pain and a large muscular mass no longer on his chest. As Joachim had suspected, as soon as Isaac ceased physical contact with him, he appeared to revert back into a werewolf.

Seeing the look of surprise in the other's eyes, the vampire sighed. "We have to find a place where this will not affect us. Someplace away from the monsters…"

Meanwhile, to temporarily break the enchantment, Leon had decided to hold hands with Soma. After the youth complained wildly, calling it "faggish," Leon conceded to interlocking arms instead.

Soma continued to pout, using his free left hand to throw lightning at a nearby ghost, evaporating it into mist. "So you've you got a plan, right? I don't know if you've noticed, but we're kind of at a _disadvantage_ here."

Leon didn't have a plan, but he intended to form one. That is, until he happened to look up into the rafters, spying a familiar form talking to a bat. The Belmont's eyes glowed with happiness and a smile spread across his face. "Richter!"

Without the slightest warning, he pulled out his wings and flew them both up into the high rafters, a startled Soma hanging on for dear life. He ignored the youth's curses and set him down gently next to the bat. "Richter, how I have missed you!"

Richter looked up at Leon, tilting his head to the side. "You know, I can't understand you either."

At this, Leon glanced uncertainly at Soma. The silver haired youth shrugged back.

Soon, a final guard floated up next to them. Not even a moment later, a werewolf finished scaling the stone walls and flipped over the railing next to them.

Dracula gazed fondly at the motley assortment of his monster minions. "I see you have all come to listen! Let me show you the way of the holistic organic raw foods vegan. You will never doubt yourself again!"

Joachim caught the eyes of the werewolf to his side, knowing that the creature was Isaac. "I think we've found Dracula."

The werewolf nodded in agreement.

Leon began to piece things together. The final guard that just called Richter "Dracula" sounded an awful lot like Joachim, and he only knew one person who would even attempt to scale the sheer stone walls of the coliseum to the high throne with nothing but his bare hands. Who else, but Isaac?

The little bat next to Soma protested, "father, please, not this again…"

The bat looked familiar already, and after calling Richter "father," he knew the tiny creature must be Alucard.

Finally, Leon realized who it was that sat lounging in the throne in front of him.

"Old friend, it is I, Leon Belmont," he said, pulling Soma with him as he walked forward and grasped Richter's hand firmly in a handshake. "Do you recognize me now, Mathias?"

Instantly, the axe armor and skeleton vanished in front of Dracula, being replaced with the familiar figures of Soma and Leon. "It's Dracula," he scowled back at the Belmont.

Alucard, finally realizing how to break the enchantment, stepped forward, placing his hand on Dracula's shoulder. "Father, can you understand me now?"

"Adrian?" the lord of the night questioned, seeming startled. Before he knew what was happening, Joachim had placed his hands in his hair, and Isaac was firmly grasping his forearm.

A moment later, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from them. It was remarkable, but they could actually feel Sara's curse vanishing from their bodies. Leon breathed a sigh of relief. "I am so glad we aren't fighting each other any more."

"As am I," Alucard agreed.

Joachim frowned unhappily.

Dracula scowled, shaking them all off him. "That's enough warm fuzzies for one lifetime. Get off me."

Soma, feeling his A.D.D. kicking in, decided to watch the other monsters in the coliseum fight each other. However, when he turned around, the sight that greeted him made him pull Leon's shirt sleeve urgently. "Don't look now, but I think someone's waiting for you."

Of course, Leon had to look now. His countenance grew grim as he gazed down.

The monsters had all vanished with the curse, leaving the coliseum appearing like a deserted wasteland. It was completely empty, aside from one solitary figure that stood in the center of the room.

Wind from an undisclosed location blew both the white hem of her long dress and the blue ribbons that once wrapped decoratively around her arms. Her hair fell to her waist in dark messy waves, the beads that had once held it together into twin buns now clung to the strands lifelessly. Yet, her hazel eyes were more alive than Leon had ever seen them before.

Sara Trantoul. His Sara.

Already, he could sense that his companions were gearing up for another fight, but he held his hand out, blocking their way. "No, please stand down. This is my dilemma."

"Damn right it is," Soma agreed, folding his arms and taking a seat next to Dracula to watch.

To this, Leon smiled and nodded reassuringly. Then, he turned his attention back to Sara, leaping off the balcony, and gliding down until he stood before her. "Sara, dearest…"

"I hate you, Leon…" Sara said, her venomous voice matching the smoldering look behind her eyes. Faster than Leon knew was possible, she smacked him across the face, the blow feeling ironically similar to the sting of a whip.

"I know." Leon made no attempt to retaliate. Instead, he looked into her eyes with the utmost sincerity and pity. "Yet, I still hope that you will find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me."

"Forgive you? _Forgive you?_" She growled, her fury again beginning to manifest itself around her. Leon feared for a moment that she would curse them all again, but soon it became clear that something entirely different was happening.

With an enraged cry, dark and twisted wings ripped through her back. The ebony wings appeared to match her temperament as she flew with lightning speed into her former betrothed, striking him to the ground. "_Leon Belmont! _You put me through _agony! _ You put me through _hell!_"

"I'm sorry?" Leon attempted weakly. With demonic strength, she picked him up from the floor and whipped him across the coliseum.

Isaac silently commended her technique.

Shouting so that he would still be able to hear her, she approached him again. "For a thousand years I have tirelessly helped you and your descendants _fight Dracula. _ For a thousand years I have _watched_ you _fuck_ _**more times than I can count!**_"

"I'm sorry…" the Belmont said again, not looking away as she struck him once more.

Her fury was indeed terrible, but she managed to quell it long enough to stare him down. "What do you have to say for yourself? _Well, Leon Belmont?_"

"I know that no words I may say could ever atone for what I have done to you, and for that, I truly am regretful," Leon said, choosing the words that were the truest and closest to his heart. "However, I wish to make this all up to you."

She laughed bitterly, "Oh? And do tell me how you could _make up _for years of torture?" Despite her words, she gasped, refusing to show just how startled she was as he took her hands in his.

"Sara, you mean everything to me," Leon said, his sincerity and honesty clear in his words. "Never again will I be unfaithful to you, for you are the only one I want by my side."

The dark winged angel's lips quivered as she thought about what would come next. "You… can't be serious… are you really…" Before she could say any more, Leon did it.

Leon lowered himself to one knee, kissing her hand and looking up expectantly into her eyes. "Sara Trantoul, if it pleases you to know, long have I loved you…"

"Oh no way… is he really...?" Soma groaned, but was quickly slapped by Joachim.

"Quiet! This is the good part!" the vampire hissed.

"It would be if it wasn't _her_," Dracula sighed with disgust and boredom. "Elizabetha always hated entertaining Sara."

"Because she's a total bitch?" Soma asked.

"Yes, but… actually, no…" the lord of the night responded thoughtfully. "Someday, perhaps, you'll see why."

"Ok, really, _shut up!_" Joachim vehemently whispered, smacking them both.

"…and that is why I will always love you," Leon finished, wishing more than anything that he could know what his beloved was thinking. "Sara Trantoul, will you marry me?"

In that one moment, a thousand years of ice seemed to melt off Sara's frozen soul. The dark wings hovering behind her began to fade to a tolerable stormy grey, and her eyes threatened to begin watering. "Leon Belmont… I fucking hate you… I hate you so much… and…"

"And?" Leon prompted hopefully.

"And… I'll hate you more if you even _think_ of fucking cheating on me again you ass-tard!" She finished, a single tear spilling out of her left eye.

It took Leon a few moments to figure out what she meant, but when he did, he stood up and embraced her happily. "Oh Sara, I promise that I will always be true to you! I'll love you forever!"

Reluctantly, Sara tolerated his hug and pat him on the back.

Realizing that the show was over, the others descended from the high balcony, standing awkwardly around the couple a good distance away. "I hate to be rude, but I'll need your seal if I am to rebuild it into Castlevania," Dracula finally prodded.

Taking the opportunity to detach Leon from her, Sara walked up to the vampire lord. "Mathias, you really have looked better."

"It's Dracula now," he scowled. "And I have already been informed."

"I know, I just wanted to say it because you're a bitch to kill… and I know you hate it," she grinned, lifting her hand in the air. As if it knew its master was calling it, a small blue stone bearing the holy angelic engraving fell from the ceiling into her palm. With a curt nod, she thrust it into Dracula's hands. "My seal. Keep in mind, if you destroy it, I will only return to the whip."

"Duly noted," Dracula said, tucking the seal safely into the folds of his clothing. "Now, as all the bosses residing in Castlevania have been defeated, we would do well to leave before…"

Suddenly, a fierce rumbling, not unlike an earthquake, shook the room.

Soma punched Dracula. "Tell your castle to quit it!"

"It isn't me!" the lord of the night growled back.

"He's right," Alucard agreed, leading them to the doorway. "Now that the links binding the demons and angels to Castlevania have vanished, their magic power is no longer fueling the castle. We would do well to leave as quickly as possible."

And they did. Dracula managed to keep the castle from falling on top of them while they quickly double-jumped their way through the corridors. However, once they rushed past the gates and fled to the hill nearby, the inevitable happened.

From their hilltop perch, they watched Castlevania crumble and vanish from the horizon.

Silently, Dracula wept emo tears. Alucard patted him on the back.

* * *

Yes, there is one more chapter left. Laugh, cry, or scream with anguished glee!

I have to say, I'm shocked with the number of you who thought Walter Bernhard would be the last boss! For those of you Walter fanatics out there, never fear, I do have plans for this very classy man…

Congrats to: Lone Wolf 102 and Moonlit Luna for correctly answering the trivia!

**Thank you, reviewers! Your reviews really do make my day!**

Chapter Trivia #12:

_Leon uses several different magical attacks in this chapter; however, one of them is not actually in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. Which of Leon's attacks is new to him?_

Leon has a wide variety of attacks in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence; however, Hydro Storm is not one of them. The only Castlevania characters to use this attack are Richter in both Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Jonathan and Charlotte in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Chapter Trivia #13:

In the course of this story, you may have noticed something different about Leon, Joachim, Soma, Alucard, Dracula, Isaac or perhaps another character. Which character is _out of character?_ Review with your answer!


	14. Love All, Trust A Few, Do Wrong To None

"Plain, I just want it _plain!_" Leon sighed in exasperation.

The Starbucks barista looked up at him with confusion. "Plain _what_ sir?"

"Just… anything!" Leon, annoyed with the exchange, threw five dollars at her.

"Do you want whip-cream wit—"

"No!" Turning around sharply on his heel, Leon marched out of the Starbucks.

"You didn't get your drink yet," Joachim pointed out as he exited the doors.

"I just… I don't even care," Leon cast his gaze aside curtly. "You can have it, Soma."

"Score!" Soma whooped, entering the café.

Leon took a seat beside his beloved, who glared at him scornfully. "You said you'd bring me tea, you fucking dipshit."

"Forgive me, my dearest, I…" Leon began.

"I'll get it." Joachim offered, standing up from his seat and drifting to the doors in an unusually giving manner.

"Joachim… are you sure?" Leon asked skeptically.

The vampire rolled his eyes at him. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Thank you," Leon nodded, handing him cash. "Oh, and walk. You will frighten people if you float around like that."

Indeed, a few people looked a little spooked, but Joachim just hummed indifferently as he dropped to the ground and walked into the store. When he stood next to Soma in line, the youth arched his eyebrow at him. "Did I just hear you offer to do something _for someone else?_"

"Not really," the vampire said, "I just wanted to get away from Dracula. He won't stop crying."

"Can I take your order, sir?" the barista asked helpfully.

"I need a refill of tea," Joachim stated, holding out his overly recycled plastic Starbucks cup.

"I'm sorry sir, we don't do refills," the barista explained apologetically.

"Really?" Joachim pressed. "You could refill it with tea, blood, or coffee and I wouldn't care. Just no decaf please."

The barista gave him a strange look, appearing like she wanted to say something more, but instead she politely said, "Sorry, sir, I can't refill any of those. Especially blood. Company policy."

"Oh." With that, Joachim threw his journeyed recycled plastic Starbucks cup into the garbage. He handed her Leon's money. "I'll have two teas."

Meanwhile, outside, Alucard was trying his best, and failing, to console his father. "It was a really old castle, anyway."

"I loved that castle!" Dracula continued to weep emo tears, banging his head on the table they were all sitting around.

"Don't worry, Drac, I'll help you rebuild," Isaac reassured him.

"Really?" Dracula looked up, finally drying his eyes.

Isaac nodded curtly. "A real man never goes back on his word."

"Thank you, Isaac," the lord of the night replied with a small smile. "I think… you've become my favorite again."

"I'd hope so," Sara scoffed with a wayward glance back in the direction of Castlevania's ruins. "None of your others are alive anymore."

At this, Dracula shook his head, "I will revive them with the castle… I do hope Saccubus will forgive me."

"It's not impossible," Leon said as he held Sara's hand. She glared back at him murderously.

At this moment, the doors to the café swung open, and both Joachim and Soma reluctantly took their seats back at the table.

After the vampire handed Sara her tea, Soma finally noticed that the woman was still around. Pointing to her, the white haired youth asked, "How is she still alive?"

"Oh, it turns out she's always been alive," Leon explained with an embarrassed smile. "I just never knew I could pull her out of the whip until now."

"I fucking hate you _so_ much…" Sara scowled at the Belmont, taking her tea and glaring daggers at him between sips.

Suddenly, Joachim recalled something so important that he had to announce it immediately. "Soma, we never got to see your 'bitchin' attack'."

Soma's eyes widened, and he clutched his hair tightly in his fists. "Auugh! No way! I can't believe I forgot!"

"I'm beginning to think it doesn't exist," the vampire commented offhandedly.

"Oh, it's bitchin' and it attacks," Soma assured him. "And it exists."

"We'll have to see it later," Leon said with a smile. He simply couldn't be upset with anything right now. Except the barista.

Time passed quickly, and as Leon looked around the table, he couldn't imagine a better outcome to their venture. Despite their original reservations about entering Castlevania again, it seemed everyone had come out better off than before.

Dracula had been swayed to a less threatening persuasion, giving Alucard his father back and Leon his old comrade. Currently, the lord of the night was vehemently discussing the finer aspects of tea with his son.

Isaac, now no longer trapped within Castlevania, seemed manlier than ever. Soma, determined to find a cheap way to get tougher, was prodding the former devil forger for tips on how to body-build quickly.

Despite dying again, Joachim appeared somewhat saner than when they left. As he sipped his tea, Leon could have sworn that he appeared a little more indignant and calculating than before, but he chalked it up to the vampire's usual resentment.

And of course, Leon couldn't forget the most important part of his night: Sara was again by his side, and not just in whip form. She wasn't quite the girl that he had originally proposed to, but he had sworn to love her regardless of how the sands of time may change them.

It wasn't long before the Starbucks barista was not-so-happily pulling at their chairs, making wild declarations like, "Get up, I want to go home." and "I have to win that bid on ebay tonight."

Soma's eyes narrowed. _He_ had a bid to win on ebay tonight too.

Reluctantly, they stood to relinquish their chairs but didn't leave the premises just yet. The Starbucks girl to sighed with annoyance and started cleaning around them.

With sincerity and appreciation, Leon nodded to each of them in turn. "Comrades, I thank you for your help. I shall never forget our adventure, and should the world need us again, I know I can count on every one of you to be there."

Alucard and Isaac nodded dutifully. Soma pumped an enthusiastic fist in the air, "I can't let Leon-Fucking-Belmont take all the glory!"

Dracula and Joachim both looked aside noncommittally. Sara only gazed at him with contempt. "You would risk your life to save the world?"

"I would," Leon smiled at her gently, turning to the others to wave a final farewell. "Thank you again, friends. I cannot say how happy I am that we all part in peace. Farewell."

After seeing each of them wave, he took a reluctant Sara's hand in his and led her down the walkway to his home.

It wasn't long before he and Sara both noticed something unsettling.

"We're being followed," Sara said quietly, so as not to alert the attention of their follower.

"I know," Leon whispered back. "What should we do about it?"

"_You_ figure it out, fucktard," the dark haired woman scowled back.

"Very well," the Belmont said, his eyes hardening with determination. "I will do what I must."

Quickly, Leon spun around to face his pursuers. "You are all welcome to stay at my place."

Dracula, Alucard, Soma, Isaac, and Joachim all seemed rather pleased to hear that.

"What?" Sara hissed, slapping Leon across the cheek. "You're just going to invite a bunch of people to stay over without giving me _any_ warning?"

"Yes?" Leon said innocently. "We destroyed Dracula and Isaac's home. Besides, Joachim has already been living in the basement on and off for the last few hundred years."

"I hate you _so much_…" Sara seethed.

Seeing as that she wasn't swearing at him, Leon took it as a good sign. "Alucard, Soma… you are both welcome as well, but don't you have homes of your own?"

"I refuse to let Adrian out of my sight," Dracula declared, pulling Alucard along by the sleeve of his suit jacket. "He's such a depressed child. Knowing him, he would try to kill and bury himself again in some awful tomb for the next hundred years."

"I… that isn't true," Alucard murmured unconvincingly.

"I see," Leon nodded, then turned to the other. "What about you, Soma?"

"I don't wanna fucking go home," Soma folded his arms with a frown. "That place is a fucking shit-hole."

"You could have just said you live with your parents," Joachim said dryly.

Soma glared at the vampire contemptuously. "No! I didn't ever… how do _you_ know?"

As Leon listened to them all bicker on the way to his house, he couldn't help but smile. Last evening, he had left his home prepared to die. Actually, he was expecting it. Through their entire journey, he had been gearing up for the inevitable. This evening, Leon had expected to have a silent requiem with no mourners nor attendees for his passing.

Yet, somehow, they had found a way to save the day and destroy the evil within Castlevania _without_ his death. Perhaps he hadn't trusted his companions enough?

"After the Lament of Innocence, this will be my Requiem… of Trust," Leon murmured dramatically to the wind.

"…and would you _quit talking to yourself?_ It's really starting to get fucking annoying," Sara growled at him angrily.

"Anything for you, my dear. Anything for you," Leon replied with a smile, ignoring his beloved's scowl as they all entered his home.

* * *

Sad that it's over? (Though I couldn't imagine why…) Don't be! This story will indeed have a sequel featuring brand-new (or should I say good-old?) Castlevania characters. Don't worry, your favorite crew will still be around but with a few happy additions. ^_^

If you look on my profile page, chapter 1 of **"Modern Problems"** should already be there for your reading pleasure.

**Thank you to everyone who read and supported this fic the entire way!** For those of you who do not follow me to the sequel, I hope that you have enjoyed the read! Please leave some final comments. =)

Special thanks goes out to everyone who left me a review! Your encouragement truly means so much to me! : True Hyper Sonic, LadyArmster, Wild Fantasy, Willowfur, SunLord89, OrgXIIIisbetterthantheAkatski, sara, Lonewolf 102, MoonlitLuna, LoMXD, Selfish Vampire Mint, Great Chapter So Far (this one still cracks me up!) , Nano*mecka, James Birdsong, Biru-chan, Teros, BlueBird, eterniawolf, and etc.

Chapter Trivia #13 Answer:

_In the course of this story, you may have noticed something different about Leon, Joachim, Soma, Alucard, Dracula, Isaac, or perhaps another character. Which character is out of character?_

Hopefully by this point you have realized that they are **all** out of character. Purposefully, by the way. I hope, however, that it is in a lovable and memorable way. Thanks for reading!


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